Crashing Down
by ShiningXStar
Summary: COMPLETE! For Degrassi students, the new year brings more trouble than expected. Manny is torn apart by a secret, Emma changes her nerdy image with disasterous reults,Spin is heading for trouble, Craig is caught in a messy love triangle,Ash has a secret!
1. Nothing To Lose

**Summary- **It's a new year at Degrassi, and when you throw in some backstabbing, drugs, sex, and heartbreak, no one is going to be ready for the year ahead of them. This story will be mainly about Roxie, the new girl, Manny, Craig, Emma, Spinner, and Ashley. There will be secrets, love triangles, trouble, and lots more! R&R! Thanks~ 

      Roxie squeezed the pillow over her ears, trying desperately to block out the familiar sounds of fighting and obnoxious, loud rock music pulsating through the walls. Roxie gritted her teeth together as the yelling continued from downstairs, and as the music began vibrating through her head. After a few minutes of tossing, turning, and cursing, Roxie finally realized sleep would be virtually impossible. It looked like she was going to be doing what she usually did- staring at nothing until the sun came up, or she passed out from exhaustion. She thought back to that evening and realized she had chugged a bottle of Pepsi, so it looked like the second option was out. She glanced at her clock and groaned loudly. It was only 2am. 

She flipped over onto her stomach and smashed her face into her pillow. Maybe, if she was lucky, she would suffocate herself. She then turned on her side, turned on her other side, picked her nails, hummed a little, and then finally sat up. This is demented, she realized. She had school tomorrow, but it obvious no one in the household cared.

Roxie sprang from her bed and hurried across her dark room, and then pulled open the door. She stomped down the hall to her sister's room, the music growing louder as she neared. She flung open the door angrily and placed her hands on her hips. 

"Are you deaf?" she screamed, trying to be heard over the music. She glared at her sister, Angel, who was lounging on her bed, flipping through a magazine and smoking a cigarette. Angel didn't even notice as some of the ashes fell onto her bedspread. "Turn it down, you idiot!" 

"Get the hell out of my room" her sister yelled suddenly, grabbing a porcelain statue from her beds-stand, and hurling it directly at her sister's face. Roxie quickly grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door closed just as the statue smashed against the wood. 

Roxie sighed as she wandered down the hall, not extremely disappointed. At least it hadn't ended like last time- stitches and minor eternal bleeding for her. She got to her bedroom and once she was inside, she slammed the door as hard as she could behind her. But she doubted anyone cared or even heard. She stomped over to her bed (not like anyone cared again) and fell dramatically into bed, sprawling across it. 

All I want is some goddamn sleep! She thought angrily, staring at the ceiling blankly. Is that too much to ask? Roxie didn't think so. After all, it was basic human necessity. All she wanted was for her sister to turn her music down. Roxie hated Angel. It was ironic to Roxie that her mother had named her that- after all, she was the official spawn of Satan. Roxie rolled over onto her stomach and sighed again. 

Suddenly, she faintly heard the sound of glass shattering over the loud music. She sat up slowly and walked to her window. She watched as her step-father, George, hurried out of the house to his beat-up Mustang, and hopped in. He quickly pulled out of the driveway and went racing down the street. Roxie sighed again and left her room. 

She was halfway down the stairs when she spotted her mother sitting on the couch, covered in glass. She was holding her forehead, and large glass was causing blood to run down her face. Roxie, unfazed, continued down the stairs. 

"What happened this time, Mom?" she asked. Her mother looked up and scowled at her daughter. 

 "Shut up, Roxie, and get me a goddamn towel!" she said. "Do you want me to die over here?"

_Yes_. It was the first thing that sprang to Roxie's mind, but she just shrugged and headed into the kitchen. She grabbed a washcloth, rang it under the faucet, rang it out and bit, and then went back to her mother. She handed it to her, and her mother snatched it away from her. 

"Need anything else?" 

"No. I don't need anything from you," her mother snapped, pressing the wet towel to her head. She shook her head firmly as Roxie crossed her arms over her chest. Then she reached over and picked up a pack of cigarettes, and shook out a few with her good hand. She carelessly tossed one to her daughter, who caught it. "There. Happy?" 

Roxie smirked as she stuffed the cigarette into the pocket of her shorts. Maybe she was wrong, but last time she had checked, parents were supposed to, um….discourage smoking, not promote it. She rolled her eyes as she grabbed her jacket off a nearby chair. Yep, her mom was definitely in the running for Mother- of-the-Year. She turned, jacket in hand, to see her mother frowning at her. 

 "Where the hell do you think you're going?"

"I don't know. I thought I might play with matches or run into traffic or something. Haven't decided yet," Roxie said casually, pulling open the front door. "Be back never." She slammed the door behind her, waited a few seconds in the highly unlikely chance her mother would come after her, and then headed down the walkway into the dark, warm night. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~``

             It was almost 3, and Manny stumbled into her house, giggling at nothing in particular. She dropped her purse in the front hall, and its contents spilled all over the marble floor. She reached down to pick it up, but changed her mind. _Ah, screw it, _she thought, standing back up. She blinked hard. Was that a butterfly? She laughed loudly at the thought. _Don't be stupid_, she told herself. _Butterflies are shiny. _

She was laughing so hard that she lost her balance and nearly fell into a table, but managed to steady herself. She smothered her mouth with her hand, trying to tell herself that her parents weren't deaf and might actually hear her. She nodded to herself and tried to keep a straight face. 

"Manuella Santos!" a shrill loud voice yelled. 

_God?_ Manny thought, confused, glancing around. No…it was…her _mother._

"Do you have any idea you what time it is?!" her mother screeched quietly, hurrying up to her in her bathrobe. Her hair was messed up, and she managed to look tired and furious at the same time. Manny swallowed hard. 

"Uh…is this a retchorical question?" she slurred slightly. Her mother shook her head, clearly appalled. 

"Manuella Santos, are you drunk? I can't believe this! Again! What is the matter with you, young lady! Do you want to be grounded? You should thank the Lord that your father is knocked out on a sleeping pill, young lady! "

Manny stood there, wondering what her mother wanted her to say. Yes, yes Manny was slightly drunk. She couldn't deny that. But she had to come up with a story- a good one. She searched her mind for some good explanation of why Manny was standing in the foyer of their home, unable to focus and stumbling over absolutely nothing. 

Damn…nothing! She bit her lip. 

"Go to sleep right now," her mother hissed. "I can't even look at you, Manuella! You start school tomorrow, so get in bed this instant. We will talk about this when I am ready, understand?" 

Manny nodded stupidly, and her mother stalked to her bedroom, mumbling to herself. Manny sighed, and decided to head upstairs. She lifted up her leg to climb the first step, but completely missed and landed on her ass. _Oopsie__!_ She thought, giggling a little. 

Manny finally managed to crawl up the stairs, stand up, and walk to her bedroom. Just before she opened her door, she froze, alarmed. _Wait-school tomorrow?!_

~~~~~~~~~~~

Mr. Simpson walked into the noisy classroom, set his briefcase down, and clapped twice for attention. The kids quieted down, so her smiled and leaned against his desk. 

            "Ok, everyone! Welcome to another thrilling year at Degrassi. I'm sure you're really excited about that-"this caused a round of boos and groans. "But seriously, we need to get to business. This is going to be a great year- I can just tell. I'm sure you're all happy about jumping back into the land of teachers, homework, and of course….me," He grinned and pointed at himself with his thumbs. This caused another round of boos, groans, and even one "Ew!" from the back. Mr. Simpson frowned, pretending to look hurt. He shrugged and grabbed his attendance book, which her flipped open. 

"Ok, so maybe I'm not the manly stud I assumed…" he said, trailing off as he glanced down at the book. "Ok, next order of business-attendance. This shouldn't be too hard, folks, if you're here. Alright. Hazel Aden…." 

"So, are you up for another year of being a super-stud? I heard there are lots of hot grade sevens wandering around this year. Better yet, how about scoring with some sexy grade fives?" Spinner said as he leaned over to Craig, who was sitting next to him. He laughed softly as his own joke. 

"Shut up!" Craig hissed back, reaching over and stabbing Spinner with his newly sharpened pencil. He was getting sick of Spinner's lame jokes about him "robbing the cradle" with Manny. 

"Ow! That_ really_ hurt. Can't you take a joke? Look, you know I was only kidding. Manny was super fine last year. Hey, if I hadn't been with Paige, I would have totally gone after her myself." 

Craig raised his eyebrows skeptically, not quiet picturing Spinner going after a girl and actually succeeding. Hell, if he didn't have Paige, he would probably be alone for the rest of his life. 

"It's not like it matters now. She hates me. We were walking on the same sidewalk one afternoon this summer, and she almost got hit by a car trying to cross the street to avoid me. Not only that, but Ashley despises me, too." 

Spinner glanced at Ashley across the room. "Really? I didn't notice," he said. Craig followed his gaze and saw Ashley blatantly glaring at him, grinding her pencil into her paper. Craig swallowed hard and slumped down in his seat. 

"Um…do you think she's carefully plotting my death? 'Cuz that was kind of what I was thinking." 

"Most definitely," Spinner said. "Hey! Did you know they made a new flavor of spray cheese?" 

Craig sighed and glanced up at the ceiling. Spinner had the attention span of a turtle, and Craig couldn't count the times the topic had changed to spray cheese and its many exotic and mysterious flavors. Craig had even thought he spotted Spinner wiping away a tear when he had discovered their new pepperoni flavor. 

"I heard they just made an onion flavored spray cheese," Craig whispered. 

"Really?!" Spinner said, sitting up straighter. 

"No," Craig said, making a disgusted face. "Wait-were you just excited about that?" 

"Boys, I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I'm trying to teach. If you want to gossip about nail polish, and then go in the hall, alright?" Mr. Simpson interrupted, staring at the two. 

"We weren't talking about nail polish," Spinner said, looking offended. "We were talking about spray cheese." 

The glass laughed, and Mr. Simpson smirked. 

"Looks like it's going to be another great year with Spinner Mason," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes and leaning against his desk. 

 Roxie rolled her eyes as her mother turned into the parking lot of Degrassi Community School, and as they nearly ran over a small red-headed girl. Her sister leaned out the window and yelled something about watching where she was going, despite the fact that she had been walking on a sidewalk. Roxie slumped down in her seat and hoped no one was looking. She glanced around and saw that there was absolutely no one in the parking lot. She sighed as she glanced at the clock. She was thirty minutes late. 

She glanced at her mother, who leaned over and took a sip of her beer. Roxie made a disgusted face. Not only had her mother been speeding, she was also drinking and driving. Roxie sighed loudly as her mother stopped the car abruptly in front of the school's front door. Roxie lurched forward in her seat, and nearly went crashing through the windshield. Luckily she braced herself against the dashboard. 

"Well, it's been lovely driving with you, mother," Roxie snapped. "We only nearly got in three major car accidents, which was better than usual, I guess."

Her mother ignored her and lit a cigarette. Angel gathered up her things in the back and popped open the door. Roxie l sat still, watching as her sister got out. 

"Well…aren't you getting out. I have things to do, Roxie ," her mother said, glancing at her. Roxie made a face and shrugged. 

"I don't want to be seen with her. People might actually think we're family."

"What? You 'shamed of your family?" her mother asked, blowing out some smoke in Roxie's face. Roxie exaggerated a cough, then looked up at her sister and mother, and thought the question wasn't even worth justifying it with an answer. 

"Only every second I'm alive," Roxie muttered, pushing her door open and stepping out. "Thanks for the ride. I'll let you get back to doing what you usually do- smoking and drinking." She slammed the door shut and marched around to the sidewalk in front of the school. She frowned at her sister and hurried ahead of her. Angel followed. 

They walked over through the empty hallway to the secretary's desk, who was babbling on the phone and typing away furiously on her keyboard. Roxie was sure she was doing something _really_ important. Angel walked up to the desk and slammed her books down on the desk, demanding attention. The woman looked up, politely told whoever she was talking too she had to go, and hung up. She turned to the two blonde girls and smiled politely. 

"Hello. A little late, aren't we?" she said, reaching for a slip. Angel snorted.

"_Duh_."

The woman frowned. 

"Names?" The told them to her, and she nodded and smiled. "Sisters?"

"Unfortunately," Angel said with a sigh, leaning on the desk and frowning at the petite woman. "Can we hurry this up?" 

The woman frowned harder but said nothing. She quickly filled out their slips, gave them their schedules, and told them coldly to "have a nice day." Roxie took her slip and followed her sister down the hall, glancing at her schedule. She looked up and saw her sister heading toward a side door. 

"Where are you going?" Roxie asked in amazement. 

"Why do you care?" Angel snapped, before pushing open the door and disappearing outside. Roxie sighed and headed toward her first class, or at least hoped where her first class was. She was actually surprised Angel had even bothered to enroll in school. She had hardly ever gone last year, and Roxie had gotten verbally harassed by the teachers for it. Roxie knew the only reason she had actually showed up today was because the government were on her mother's ass about Angel skipping school. 

After wandering around for a few minutes, Roxie finally stumbled across her classroom. She glanced at her schedule and saw her teacher was Mrs. Sampson. She shrugged and pushed open the door. She found Mr. Sampson standing at the board with a piece of chalk in his hand. He turned when he saw the door open and frowned as she stepped in. 

"Late on the first day?" he said. 

"Sorry, Mr. Sampson," she said. "I…my mother…uh…sorry." Roxie stuttered, and then heard laughing. She glanced around and frowned. She hadn't thought it was that funny. Maybe that was just how they treated new kids. Laughing loudly at them. Roxie frowned again and saw that even Mr. Sampson was laughing slightly. What was with these people?

"It's Mr. Simpson," he said, waving his hand in their air. "And it's ok. Just try not to let it happen again." 

Roxie glanced down at her sheet, and it did in fact say Mr. Simpson. Apparently, she still needed to learn how to read. Roxie just nodded and hurried to an empty seat in the back, next to two boys. She slid into her seat and slumped down as low as possible. She opened her new notebook and hunched over it, her eyes almost immediately dropping shut. She was exhausted after last night. She had basically stormed out of the house, wandered around for a bit, and then had decided to go home after being harassed by two forty-year-old men in a pick-up truck. Roxie had arrived home to a surprisingly empty and quiet house, and had actually gotten two hours of pleasant sleep. 

Roxie opened her eyes and sat up, deciding she definitely couldn't sleep over Mr. Simpson's talking. She glanced around, and then stopped when she saw the two boys were staring at her. She shifted uncomfortably. Finally, the blonde boy leaned over, smiling at her. 

"Hey."

"Um…hi," she mumbled, staring at Mr. Simpson, hoping her would take the hint. He didn't. 

"Are you new?" he asked with a goofy smile. Roxie resisted the urge to roll her eyes and nodded. 

"Yeah. Are you?" she asked somewhat sarcastically, and the boy shook his head.

"Nope. Been in Degrassi school's my whole life."

"That's nice," she said, hoping he would pick up on the bored tone in her voice. She heard the other boy, who had curly black hair, chuckle softly and nudge his friend in the arm. 

"Shut up, Spin. You're scaring the new students," he said. "Sorry about him. I'm Craig."

_Like I care_, she thought, but noted that the boy was cute, in a bashful kind of way. She tapped her pencil against her notebook and nodded.

"I'm Roxie." 

"Do you like it here?" he asked, quieting down so Mr. Simpson would hear him. 

"I don't know, but then again, I have only been here for ten minutes," she pointed out sarcastically again, and he nodded in understanding. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Mr. Simpson interrupted again. 

"Craig, Spinner, for the last time, please be quiet," he said, turning from the board and giving them both a look. "Don't make me separate you two."

"Yes, sir," Spinner said, saluting the teacher, and then glancing at Roxie. She simply stared at him, concluding that he was probably a complete idiot. _Mental note- don't sit next to him again_, she silently reminded herself, turning back to her notebook. 


	2. Revenge

Across the room, Paige watched as Craig and her boyfriend picked up a conversation with the new girl, a small blonde with a permanent scowl. It would figure, she thought as she rolled her eyes. The blonde girl was gorgeous, but in a typical, tacky kind of way. Paige sighed and glared at Spinner, hoping he would see her and stop talking to the blonde. He didn't, which only made Paige madder.  
  
"Look at that," she said as she leaned over to Ashley. "It's disgusting. She looks like a cheap whore."  
  
Ashley looked up from her notebook, where she had been scribbling furiously. She stared at the girl, and then shrugged.  
  
"She looks ok to me." Paige sighed loudly and shook her head.  
  
"You suck at dissing people, Ashley," she said, then stopped when she caught sight of Ashley's notebook. Scrawled all over the paper were things like "Craig Must Die" and "Death to ALL CHEATERS." Ashley was currently in the process of drawing a lovely, detailed picture of Craig's decapitated body.  
  
"Ashley, Hun," Paige said, touching her friends arm. "Wow. Um... you need to move on. Seriously. I now officially fear for Craig's life. Serious hostility."  
  
"Well, look at him over there," Ashley said, setting down her pencil and glaring at her ex-boyfriend. Paige looked, and saw that Craig had stopped talking, and was staring at nothing in particular with a bored look on his face. Paige looked at Ashley, as if waiting for a point. "He's just sitting there! Probably lost in some erotic dream about Manny. What a pervert. Sex with a grade nine! That's statutory rape. Isn't that statutory?" She glanced at Paige quickly, as if a plan was forming in her head. Paige sighed.  
  
"Um...Hun, listen to me. You need to move on. Craig was loser for cheating on you, but so what? His loss. He's probably going to be alone for the rest of life, kicking himself for ever letting you get away. But you...well, you can find someone new. Someone better. Someone like....my Spinner, for example." She glanced over at her boyfriend.  
  
Spinner was sitting in his seat, attempting to balance a pen on his noise. He chuckled softly to himself every time it fell off. Ash looked at Paige skeptically, and Paige sighed.  
  
"Ok...so there isn't always that much going on up there," she said, tapping her forehead. "But he's good to me, and he wouldn't cheat on me. Completely faithful. Like....a puppy or something. Which is exactly the quality you need to find in a guy. How about...Mark?"  
  
"Paige, he picks his nose and eats it."  
  
"Oh, yeah. But you can change that. Men are for molding, right?" Paige said, nudging Ashley in the arm.  
  
"I wish. Or else I would have molded Craig into a faithful boyfriend."   
  
Roxie opened her locker, and peered inside. It was small and dingy, but it would do. She carelessly tossed in a few of the books she had collected from her morning classes, and then pulled out a small mirror from her book bag. Roxie wasn't vain or shallow, but a girl had to look good, right? She positioned right at eyelevel, and then ran her hands through her long, dark blonde hair. She was just about to apply some lip gloss when she saw Craig, the boy from her homeroom, approach. She sighed and put her lip gloss away. Did this boy ever take a hint?  
  
But to her surprise, Craig walked right past her and to the locker directly next to hers. Roxie frowned and watched as he twisted in his combination and opened the locker. He spotted her and grinned.  
  
"Hey! Locker buddies! Looks like we're going to be spending a lot of time together," he said, zipping open his book bag.  
  
"Hooray!" Roxie said sarcastically as she continued dispensing things into her locker. Craig glanced at her and smirked. He just shook his head and said nothing.  
  
Suddenly, a blonde girl pranced up to the locker on the other side of Craig, and she froze. She gave Craig a cold stare as she walked up to her locker.  
  
"Craig," she said icily without looking at him. She opened her locker slowly. Craig blushed and frowned.  
  
"Paige," he returned, closing his locker and turning to her. "How have you been?"  
  
"Fine, I guess. Actually, I've been quite busy, trying to help a certain friend mend a broken heart. But I guess you'd know all about that, wouldn't you?" she replied, rummaging through her locker. "How was your vacation? How have you and Manny been doing? I hope your practicing appropriate birth control methods."  
  
Roxie saw Craig blush furiously, and she smothered a giggle. She was still sorting through her locker, trying to look like she wasn't listening, but of course she was. After all, it was beginning to get juicy.  
  
"Paige, you know Manny and I aren't...together," Craig said evenly. He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced around awkwardly.  
  
"Oh, yeah. She dumped you too, right?" Paige said with a smirk as she took out a large history textbook. "Hm....well, that's too bad. Looks like you'll have to find some other grade nine to sleep with you."  
  
Craig opened his mouth to respond, but stopped when he saw Spinner hurry up. Spin slung his arm around Paige, who gave him a quick peck on the cheek. He grinned at her, and then nodded at Craig.  
  
"This is so great! My girlfriend and one of my best buds have lockers right next to each other," he said. "Lucky or what?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm thrilled," Paige said sarcastically. "But right now, I have a meeting with Mr. Raditch all the way across the school. And these Italian sandals were not made for walking," she said, gesturing to the uncomfortable but fashionable sandals she was wearing. Roxie smirked.  
  
"Then why did you buy them?" she asked. Paige turned and glared at her with a haughty look.  
  
"Um, was anyone talking to you?" she asked. "I bought them because their cute." With that, she turned and gave Spinner another kiss on the cheek, and wobbled down the hallway.  
  
"Great lady. Great lady," Spinner said, watching his girlfriend leave. Then he turned back to Craig, with a look like something had suddenly occurred to him. He clapped his buddy on the back and grinned.  
  
"Hey! Ashley is going to be hanging around Paige's locker all the time!" he said. "Isn't that going to be uncomfortable?"  
  
"Yeah...well, I never thought of that," Craig said with a frown as he slammed his locker shut. He turned to Spinner with a miserable face and sighed. "But thanks for pointing that out. Man, just be glad you have a girlfriend that actually likes you, instead on one who's roaming the halls, lusting for revenge."  
  
Spinner nodded, and then spotted something down the hallway that made him raise his eyebrows. He patted Craig on the shoulder and nodded in that direction.  
  
"Hey, I may have a girlfriend, but I sure wish I didn't now," he muttered, staring in awe. "Look at that."  
  
Only mildly curious, Roxie turned to see what Spinner was ogling at. She groaned immediately and rolled her eyes as she saw her sister trudging down the hallway toward them. Angel was wearing her usual bored expression as she walked, and Roxie watched as she ran a hand through her bright blonde, shoulder-length, spunky hair. Roxie could easily understand why Spinner liked her- she looked incredibly easy. Roxie realized Angel was actually coming to talk to her, and her eyes began shifting for some kind of exit. It was too late, and soon Angel was breezing past them.  
  
"Hey. Tell Mom I'll be home tomorrow. Or maybe the day after," she said, pausing briefly in front of them. She glanced at Spinner and Craig, smirked, and then turned and walked away. Roxie stared after her.  
  
"Was that your sister?" Craig asked in amazement. Roxie bit her lip and shook her head, closing her locker and hoisting her book bag onto her shoulder.  
  
"No."  
  
"So....is Mom a mutual friend, then?" Craig asked skeptically. Roxie sighed and shook her head.  
  
"Fine. We're supposedly "sisters", but until the DNA results come back, I have my doubts."  
  
Manny giggled as Carter Monroe, her boyfriend, began kissing her neck. They were in the back of his black Mustang, skipping class and having a very good time. She sighed happily as his mouth found hers. She lost herself in his kiss, but found her mind wondering. Last year, when she was hanging out with Emma and J.T, she would have never skipped class. Instead, she'd probably be attempting to save whales or listening to some lame joke. Manny thought back to the last couple of months.  
  
After her falling out with Emma a few months ago ("school slut" was still stuck in Manny's head) Manny had turned to the one person she thought would always be there for her- Craig. But then he had lied to her, and Manny had basically decided she was done with him. Sure, she had been madly in love with him for awhile, but whatever. So, she had been quick to find someone new- enter Carter Monroe. He was devastatingly gorgeous, and Manny still shivered every time she saw him. Then, naturally, she had fallen in with his friends, and even though the lived a faster lifestyle, everything had worked out great. Now Manny had a new boyfriend, new friends.... and a new life.  
  
"Carter...I think we should stop!" Manny said with a little giggle, pushing him slightly. He didn't stop, so Manny pushed a little harder. Finally, Carter sat up with a sigh.  
  
"Why? We were having fun, right?" he asked, running a hand through his disarrayed golden hair and glancing at her with a conspiratorial grin. Manny smiled and nodded.  
  
"Of course. But I have to attend at least one class today. After last night....my Mom is already considering putting me in a convent."  
  
"Oh, yeah, sorry 'bout that," Carter said, glancing out the window. "Mom went all ballistic on you again?"  
  
"Not really. She just yelled for, like, a minute and then walked away. I don't even remember anything she said. But I don't think I was punished- yet," Manny said with a frown, trying to remember something. She couldn't, so she just shrugged. "Anyway, I should go to this last class, and then I have cheerleading practice. You going to come watch me? I need a ride...Mom basically told me this morning she was no longer taking me anywhere."  
  
"Sure. I don't mind watching girls twirl around in short skirts," he teased. Manny punched him in the arm with a laugh.  
  
"Just kidding. The only girl in a short skirt I want to be watching is you, of course," he said. Manny nodded happily, leaned over, and gave him a long kiss on the mouth. Then, she turned and opened the door, leaving Carter staring after her. She strolled away provocatively, knowing he was watching her.  
  
Manny flipped her long, straight black hair over one shoulder and she walked through the front glass doors. Yeah, things were looking up for Manny Santos. 


	3. Flirt

This is my first fan fiction, so don't be too, harsh, but please review and give me your thoughts! Hope you enjoy! (It might start off as slow, but it will pick up....I promise)  
  
"Psst!" Liberty whispered to Emma, poking her in the side. Emma winced and made a face. She wasn't sure why it was necessary for Liberty to poke her, since she was sitting right next to her. Emma decided to ignore it and accepted the note from Liberty anyway. She quietly unfolded it.  
  
Emma,  
  
Aren't you excited about this new school year? I'm thrilled to be returning to where I feel most comfortable- the wonderful classroom. How was your summer? I spent mine with my Aunt, and went to a marine biology camp, which was amazing! How was your vacation? Oh, what is going on with you and Manny? Do you two still have some unresolved issues? And what about you and Sean?  
  
Emma bit her lip, ignoring the fact that Liberty was probably the biggest nerd ever, but Emma liked her. She took out a pen to write a response, when she was interrupted by her step-dad, Mr. Simpson.  
  
"Ok! Since it is the first day, the rest of the period can be spent as free time for surfing the Web," he said, and the class cheered. Emma put her pen away and turned to Liberty.  
  
"My vacation was ok. It was a little crazy, with Jack and everything. And about Manny and Sean..." she said, glancing around. She spotted Sean sitting in the back, staring blankly at screen with a bored expression on his face. Emma didn't see Manny anywhere, but lowered her voice anyway.  
  
"It's pretty much that same as last year. Manny hates me, and so does Sean."  
  
"Sean doesn't hate you. He obviously still loves you," Liberty said, glancing at him. Emma shook her head doubtfully.  
  
"Yeah, right. He has a new girlfriend, anyway. I just have to face it- I'm completely out of the picture."  
  
"Well, never give up hope, that's my motto. What about Manny....is she even here?" Liberty asked curiously, glancing around. Emma rolled her eyes and shook her head.  
  
"She's probably somewhere with her new boyfriend, Carter. I can't believe she's going out with him. Doesn't she see he's only bad news? I mean, look at his friends. They should form a club- Future Inmates of America or something," Emma said bitterly, shaking her head again. It still bewildered her that her best friend since practically birth has completely ditched her for some bad-boy slacker. Ok, so Emma and Manny had kind of mutually decided to stop hanging out, but still...it bothered her.  
  
"He probably only likes her because her underpants are always hanging out," Liberty said, turning to the screen as she began to type. Emma smothered a laugh. Liberty was probably the only teenage who referred to thongs as "underpants."  
  
"Whatever. It's not like I really care about Manny or Sean anymore, anyway," Emma lied as she began researching endangered turtles. "I'm so over both of them." But no matter how many time she said it (and she had said it a lot) she still couldn't quite convince herself it was true.  
  
Paige leaned over at the waist and touched her toes, prepping herself up for the first cheerleading practice of the year. She was squad captain (obviously) and was ready to make the Spirit Squad the best it could be. She glanced around at the team, which had grown considerably since last year, and nodded happily. She saw some real talent.  
  
"This squad is going to be amazing," she told Hazel, who was stretching beside her. "With my leadership, of course."  
  
"Of course," Hazel replied a bit sarcastically. She nodded toward the center of the gym. "And with Manny's awesome skills.  
  
Paige frowned and glanced at Manny, who had just turned a perfect cartwheel. Hazel sure knew how to hit a sore spot with Paige. She frowned and picked up her pom-poms.  
  
"Who cares? Sure, Manny's ok," she fibbed, rolling her eyes. "But she's not that great." Still, Paige felt a little threatened. Without a word, she threw down the pom-poms and did a nice cartwheel and back-flip, with a perfect land. She smiled and walked back over to Hazel. "Like I said, I'll be leading this squad this year."  
  
Across the gym, Manny turned another cartwheel. She landed nicely and then sat down, preparing to stretch her calve muscles. She glanced around the gym as she did, and spotted Paige and Hazel glaring at her. Manny shifted uncomfortable. The Paige-backlash after the whole Ashley/Craig thing hadn't been as bad as Manny had thought, but she still tried to steer clear of Paige.  
  
Manny stretched out her legs and sighed. She still liked cheerleading, even though she had tried to quit last year. Her guidance counselor had basically threatened to shoot her if she did, because she said cheerleading was really the only thing Manny had going for her. Thinking back on it, Manny realized that was pretty insulting. Insulting but true. Her grades and effort had dropped when she had started hanging with Carter. She had to admit though, she still liked cheerleading. And she was good at it, which she never let Paige forget.  
  
Manny stood up, and saw Carter walk into the gym, wearing baggy jeans, a tight, simple, black t-shirt, and looking incredibly hot. She smiled and gestured him over. She didn't want to seem like a snob or anything, but she loved knowing that all the girls in the gym were jealous of her at that moment. Who wouldn't be?  
  
"Hey, pom-pom chick," he said when he approached her, swinging his car keys around on his finger. "I'm still giving you a ride, right?" Manny nodded and was about to reply when Paige and Hazel appeared out of nowhere. Paige was smiling at him flirtatiously.  
  
"Hey, Carter," she purred, glancing him up and down. "Come to watch me- I mean the squad- practice?"  
  
"No. Just Manny," he said casually, and Manny was pleased to see he wasn't very interested in Paige at all. Paige's smile faltered, but she regained her composure immediately. She glanced at Hazel and shrugged.  
  
"Paige, Carter and I were trying to talk," Manny said pointedly, and Paige glared at her.  
  
"Of course. What was I thinking? Have fun with your girlfriend, Craig. Oops!" she said as she patted Carters arm. She smiled apologetically and put her hand to her mouth. "I mean, Carter. It's hard to keep track these days." She gave Manny a final look before turning and flouncing away. Hazel glanced at them and quickly followed her friend.  
  
"What a witch," he mumbled with a shrug. "Was she talking about that Craig kid you used to date?"  
  
Manny blushed and shook her head, silently cursing Paige for bringing it up. "Who knows what she's talking about?" she finally replied flippantly. "Just go sit down and watch, ok?" She gave him a little nudge toward the bleachers. He gave her an odd look, but went and sat down anyway. Manny sighed with relief. Dodged that bullet, she thought. She glanced over at Paige and Hazel, who were still staring at Carter. She rolled her eyes and grabbed her pom-poms. Maybe she should have quit the Spirit Squad.  
  
Roxie walked down the stairs to breakfast the next morning, rubbing her eyes sleepily. Once again, no one had bothered to wake her up, so she was most likely late. She walked down the staircase and listened for any noise of activity in the house. Maybe, if she was lucky, her entire family had been massacred in the night, and the killers had somehow spared her. She was disappointed, though, when she walked into the kitchen and saw her entire family sitting around the table. Roxie shuddered and hurried over to the cupboards, where she grabbed a bowel.  
  
Roxie looked around the table and saw the only spot available was next to her slimy step-brother Nick. She unhappily sat down and tried to scoot over as far as possible in her seat. She could feel him leering at her over his coffee mug, and Roxie shuddered again. Ever since Nick had moved in with them a year ago, he had been making creepy passes at her on daily basis. Roxie tried to ignore him as she silently dug into her cereal.  
  
Roxie hardly noticed when a few minutes later, her mother and step-father began yelling at each other, over money or something. She just took a sip of orange juice and watched as her step-father jumped from his seat and began waving an envelope at her mother. She was just about to take another bite of cereal when she felt a hand on her thigh. She reached down and pushed it away.  
  
"Keep your hands to yourself, jerk," she said, gritting her teeth. "If you don't, I'll chop it off, ok?"  
  
"Don't be such a prude," he said with a smirk, and he took another sip of his coffee. She rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. Suddenly, she was no longer hungry. As her parent's continued to fight, she walked over and tossed her bowel into the sink, not bothering to clean it up. She turned just as her step-father yelled something and then stalked down the hallway and out the front door. Roxie's mother, Jen, stared after him angrily.  
  
"So, looks like your taking me to school," Roxie said with a sigh.  
  
"Wrong. I have things to do. Nick can take you," her mother replied, jumping up from the table and hurrying up the staircase. Roxie glanced at Nick, who looked overly pleased. Roxie made a face.  
  
"Looks like I'll be walking, then," she said, grabbing her book bag off the counter and hurrying toward the door. 


	4. Playing With Fire

**Thanks for the reviews! Emma will start changing after this chapter, and it won't just be a little transformation, either. Also, there will be a secret about Ashley and a few love triangles. Keep reviewing and I'm going to keep updating, since I have a lot of it written already. If you have any good ideas for me, definitely tell me! Thanks~**

Emma walked through the hall that morning, searching through her bag for her English notebook. She sighed and realized that she must have left it at home, which was totally unlike her. Usually, she was organized to a fault. Yep, that was her. Perfect, moralistic Emma Nelson. Emma sighed and ran a hand through her long blonde hair, and realized something- she was boring. No wonder Sean and Manny didn't hang around her anymore. It was probably painful to just be around her.  

 "Hey, baby," she heard someone say, and suddenly someone was slinging an arm around her shoulders. For a minute she thought maybe it was Sean, as unrealistic as it was. She grinned when she realized it was Chris Sharpe, her kind-of boyfriend. 

"Hey, Chris. Can I ask you something?" she blurted out. She continued without waiting for a response. "Am I…boring?" 

Chris stopped and turned to look at her. "Where did that come from?"

"Just answer. I need to know." Emma took a deep breath and braced herself for the inevitable result. Chris laughed and put his arm around her again. 

"You're not boring," he insisted as they continued down the hall. "You're really interesting. I love the way your so passionate about the environment, and how you really care for people. You're one of the nicest and most compassionate people I have ever meant."   
  


Emma smiled and nodded, but secretly winced. She knew Chris had meant it as a compliment, but he had just confirmed her suspicion- she was about as thrilling as a kindergarten Christmas pageant. She sighed sadly and glanced at the ground. As soon as she did, she bumped head first into someone. She looked up, about to apologize, when she saw who it was- Sean. Not just Sean, but Sean and his girlfriend, Gina. Emma swallowed hard. 

 "Watch it," Gina said, glaring at Emma. But Emma wasn't even paying attention to her. 

She was staring at Sean, who was staring right back at her. Something shot through Emma, some feeling- she couldn't quite figure out exactly what it was. She looked straight into his eyes, and saw something like a mixture or sadness and anger. Emma opened her mouth to respond, but Gina quickly grabbed Sean's hand and pulled him away. 

"Hey, you ok?" Chris asked after a long minute, and Emma snapped back into reality. She nodded. "Don't sweat it, Emma. Everyone knows Gina's a bitch."  

 "But I bet she's ten times as fun as me," Emma muttered under her breath. 

 "What?" Chris asked. 

"Uh…nothing," Emma said, smiling weakly. "Nothing at all." 

Roxie hurried out of her history class, anxious to get to lunch. She was dying to eat something, but had completely forgotten to pack anything that morning. She had also forgotten to bring any money. Roxie bit her lip as she walked down the hall, wondering exactly how she was going to obtain some food. She spotted a brown bag sitting on top of a couple of books near a locker. She walked over, glanced around, and picked it up. Roxie glanced inside and nodded, pleased with her selection. She hurried off, not feeling the least bit guilty. Whoever had left their lunch out like that deserved to get it stolen, anyway. 

Roxie walked outside, and was dismayed to see that many of the outside tables were already occupied. She glanced around, looking for a vacant seat. When she did, she saw something that made her stomach lurch. 

Standing by the front steps was Spinner and Angel, apparently engrossed in a conversation. Spinner was talking and obviously enjoying himself, and Roxie was surprised to see that Angel wasn't completely blowing him off. Roxie was about to storm over there and demand Spinner never talk to her sister again, but somehow thought that wouldn't go over well with Angel. Instead, she hurried over to Craig and two other boys, who were sitting at a table, laughing. 

 "Why is Spinner talking to my sister?" she demanded, skipping the greetings. She placed her hands on her hips and stared at Craig. The three boys looked up at her, surprised. 

"Um…next question, please?" Craig said with a shrug, and Roxie sighed in frustration. 

"Hey I'm Ji-" one of the other boys began, but Roxie ignored him. 

"Well, does he like her?" she interrupted, sitting down next to a cute boy with shaggy black hair. She opened "her" lunch and pulled out a sandwich wrapped in plastic. She stared at it and made a face, but decided it was better than nothing. Craig shrugged again. 

"Spinner likes any breathing creature with boobs," the boy across from her said, with a smirk. Craig nodded in agreement. 

 "You guys are no help," Roxie said unhappily. 

 "Sorry. Anyway, this is Jimmy and Marco," Craig said, gesturing to the two boys. The black guy across from her gave a small wave and Roxie smiled politely. She took a large bite of the sandwich, which appeared to have turkey and mustard on it. Roxie wasn't a huge fan of poultry, but it would do. 

 "Hey, Marco, could I have a couple chips?" Craig asked, gesturing to the bag of chips in front of Marco. "Someone stole my lunch off a couple of my books in the hallway."

Roxie stopped in mid-bite and then silently set down her sandwich, hoping Craig didn't notice as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Alright, so she'd stolen Craig's lunch. Big deal, she thought, and decided to just eat quietly, not drawing any attention to herself. It was too late to give it back now, anyway. 

Just then, Spinner hurried over, an excited look on his face. He sat down on the other side of Jimmy and glanced around at group. 

 "Aw, guys! You won't believe it. I think that Angel girl is totally into me," Spinner said, dropping his lunch onto the table. Marco and Jimmy exchanged a skeptical glance, but said nothing. Craig grinned and shook his head. 

"Just because a girl didn't immediately tell you to go away doesn't mean she likes you, Spin," Craig said. Spinner frowned and took a bite of his apple. 

"No, man, I think she liked me," he insisted. Then he saw Roxie sitting there. "Hey, Roxie! You know Angel better than anyone else. Tell me about her." He leaned in closer, looking interested. Roxie set down her sandwich and nodded. 

 "Ok. She has multiple STD's, she's been in and out of jail, she's mentally unstable, and she prefers women," Roxie said seriously, staring straight at Spinner. Spinner's face fell, and Roxie realized her actually believed her. She tried to suppress a laugh, and maintained a straight face. 

"No way. Come on, Roxie. I'm serious," he said finally, after realizing she was kidding. Roxie sighed and shrugged. 

"I don't know…she's just….Angel. Wait- don't you have a girlfriend?" Roxie asked suspiciously, and she saw Spinner shift uncomfortably. Craig, Marco, and Jimmy turned to look at him, and Spinner shrugged. 

  "Well, yeah…but I have to explore my options, right?" 

 "Forget it," Roxie said, standing up and grabbing the brown bag. "Consider my sister not an option. Just take it from me; Spinner- my sister is off limits. Believe me; it's for your own good." She patted him on the arm before she walked away. She threw the lunch bag in the trash and strolled over to her sister, who was sipping a Coke by the school entrance. 

 "What do you think you're doing?" Roxie snapped, grabbing her sister by the arm. "Leave Spinner alone, Angel. He's a nice guy, and he has a girlfriend." 

Angel wrenched her arm away from Roxie and scowled. "Cool it, beast. Spinner came over and talked to me." 

"Well, make sure it's the last time, alright?" 

 "Screw you, Roxie. What I do is my business. I can't help it if Spinner likes me." 

 "Do you like him?" 

"He's kind of cute," Angel said, smiling faintly as she glanced over at him. "But he's just a little boy. I go for men." She smirked and tossed her can in a nearby trash can. "Mind your own damn business, Roxie." With that she breezed past Roxie and headed back into the school. Roxie stared after her sister, anger surging inside of her. If she wanted Spinner away from her sister, _she_ would have to keep him away. 


	5. Never Look Back

Craig played a note on his guitar after school that day, and then sighed in frustration. He turned to his band, which consisted of Marco, Spinner, and Jimmy.  
  
"We suck," he said miserably. He placed his guitar down and plopped onto a raggedy brown couch. Spinner and Jimmy glanced at each other.  
  
"Um...correction, you suck," Jimmy said smoothly, pointing at Craig. "Not us."  
  
Craig sighed and ran a hand through his curly black hair. "I know guys. I just...can't focus. I keep thinking about Ash...and Manny."  
  
"Why? I mean, I thought we already decided they hate you. You need to move on, dude," Spinner said helpfully from behind his drum set. He fiddled with his sticks and shrugged. "Like, find someone new. How about Roxie? She's pretty cool."  
  
"No. I got the distinct impression she hated me. Besides, I still have feelings for Ash...and Manny." Craig said, leaning back on the couch and staring at the ceiling of his garage.  
  
"Wasn't that kind of the problem before?" Jimmy asked, strumming lightly on his guitar. "But Manny has a new boyfriend now. So it looks like your option is Ashley."  
  
Craig groaned and ran his hands over his face. Yeah, he knew Manny had a new boyfriend, Carter Monroe. Personally, Craig hated Carter, and not just because he was dating Manny. Craig remembered last year when Carter had tripped him in basketball and Craig had gotten a bloody nose. If he remembered correctly, Carter had just laughed and walked away. Craig gritted his teeth just thinking about it.  
  
Just then, the boys heard voices outside, and they quieted down to listen.  
  
"Come on! Don't be such a wimp," came a high, feminine voice.  
  
"Paige, you said we were going to get a C.D, not stop by here to see your boyfriend," came another moody voice. "I'd rather be buried alive than go in there. I'll wait out here, thank you very much." It was clearly Paige and Ashley, arguing.  
  
"No, your not," Paige said, and then they heard a grunt, feet scuffling, and then the door swung open. Paige marched in, dragging Ashley behind her, and behind Ashley was Hazel. Ashley looked like she was telepathically trying to murder Paige, and Paige was grinning happily.  
  
"Hi!" Paige said, and she jerked Ashley into the room. Ashley mumbled something that sounded like "hey" and then stared at the ground. "We just wanted to stop by and hear you guys play! Didn't we, Ash?" Paige chirped, nudging her friend in the side with her elbow.  
  
"No," Ashley said, and Paige immediately nudged her again, only harder.  
  
"Sure we did!" Paige said. She gave Ash a look and then skipped over to her boyfriend, and gave Spinner a long, hard kiss on the mouth.  
  
"Get a room," Jimmy mumbled, but stopped when Hazel walked over and did the same thing to him. He grinned and shrugged.  
  
Craig watched as Spinner and Jimmy abandoned their instruments and began cuddling up with their girlfriends. He inwardly groaned and glanced at Ashley, who was still standing in the same spot, staring at the ground morosely. He swallowed hard and decided to give it one more shot.  
  
"Hey, Ashley," he said, sitting up straighter on the couch. Spinner, Jimmy, Paige, and Hazel all stopped what they were doing to listen. Ashley glanced up, and Craig saw her jaw clench.  
  
"Craig," she said coldly. "Just because I'm standing in your garage does not mean I want to talk to you. Paige, I'll be waiting outside." Ashley turned and stormed out, slamming the door behind her. Craig winced as she did, and he could feel the sympathetic stares of his friends.  
  
Paige pulled away from Spinner and sighed. "Well...we should go." She looked at Hazel and nodded toward the door. Hazel and Paige both gave their boyfriends a final kiss and then headed for the door. Just before she walked out, Paige stuck her head in and smiled. "Oh, by the way, you guys sounded terrible. I just thought you should know." Then she quickly shut the door behind her.  
  
Craig leaned back on the couch and rubbed his eyes with his hands.  
  
"Maybe you would actually have better luck with Manny," Marco suggested weakly after a long minute of silence. Craig grabbed a pillow from behind him and promptly thumped Marco on the arm.  
  
Emma stuffed her book into her bag as soon as English class ended the next day. She zipped up her bag and stood up, glancing behind her. As usual, Sean was taking his time getting his things together, so Emma turned and tried to look busy by organizing her pencils by color on her desk.  
  
"Hey, Em, you coming?" Chris asked her as he walked by her desk. Emma looked up and quickly shook her head.  
  
"Um...no. You go ahead. I have to finish with....my pencils." Chris gave her a weird look, but just frowned and headed out of the classroom. Emma sighed and stuck her pencils in her bag, just as Manny glided by. Manny intentionally looked away, and as usual, Emma completely ignored her.  
  
Once Manny had safely passed, Emma turned to the door and saw that Sean was just hoisting his bag onto his shoulder. Emma walked down the aisle toward him, and she suddenly got the sensation that she really needed to throw up. Emma swallowed it down and told herself that it was no big deal. This was Sean, after all.  
  
"Sean!" Emma croaked out, just as Sean was leaving through the door. He turned and looked at her, and Emma completely blanked out for a second.  
  
"Uh...can we talk?" she said finally, holding her breath. Sean stared at her for another minute, and finally nodded. So Emma continued. "Look...I'm sorry. What happened between us was really stupid, and I don't think it should ruin our friendship. I mean....I know we went out for awhile, but I still considered you one of my best friends. And I'd hate to lose that. So I was hoping we could....well, be friends." There. She said it.  
  
It seemed like an eternity until Sean responded, but he finally did. "Yeah...I feel the same way."  
  
"Really? Good," Emma said with a relived sigh, and then waited. Neither of them said anything for a minute, and Sean coughed awkwardly.  
  
"So...friends?" Emma said, with a slow smile. Sean slowly smiled back, and nodded.  
  
"Friends."  
  
Manny flipped her hair over her shoulder as she headed to the water fountain. She was absolutely parched. She walked up to it, and pretended to ignore the appreciative stare of the tall guy on her left. She knew she looked awesome in her black sweater crop top, and her skin-tight jeans. Manny had slightly tamed her look since last year, but she still liked to look good. She smiled slightly to herself as she bent over and took a long sip of cool, clear water.  
  
Manny stood back up and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, which she knew was probably very unattractive. She turned to go back to her locker, when she bumped into something tall and hard.  
  
"Sorry..." she said, but she trailed off as she glanced up. She was staring straight at...Craig.  
  
"Manny," he said, blushing slightly and obviously not trying to stare at the bare skin of her stomach. "I...it's good to see you."  
  
Manny narrowed her eyes and folded her arms across her chest. "Really. Gee, that wasn't what I was going to say about you. I was actually wondering how long I could go without seeing you. Too bad."  
  
"Manny...I don't want things to be...like this between us," Craig said, gesturing with his hands. He sighed and ran a hand through his dark hair when he realized Manny was still glaring at him. "I really cared about you." Manny snorted at this and rolled her eyes. She was getting bored with this conversation.  
  
"Craig, I would appreciate it if you never talked to me again, ok?" she said, holding up a hand. "How can I make it any more clear to you how I really feel?" Without letting him respond, she began to turn to walk away. Craig desperately reached out to stop her, grabbing her arm. She gasped. "Craig!"  
  
"Hey!" Craig suddenly heard a deep voice say, and he suddenly felt himself being thrown against the lockers. He only realized a minute later that Carter was standing in front of him, and he had pushed him. He was about to explain when Carter grabbed his shirt collar and got right in his face.  
  
"Let's keep your hands off my girlfriend, alright?" he said, somehow managing to sound calm and completely pissed off all at once. Craig swallowed hard and nodded his head, realizing that putting up a fight with Carter was a pointless battle. He then saw Manny put a hand on Carter's arm.  
  
"Carter, stop," she said, gently but firmly. "Just...stop." Carter slowly released Craig, never taking his eyes off his face. Craig sighed with relief, and then realized what a wimp he must look like right now. Carter stepped back and put a protective arm around her shoulders. "Sorry, babe," he said. "Thought he was hassling you." Manny just shook her head and steered Carter away, down the hall.  
  
Craig stared after them as he retrieved his book bag, which had fallen to the floor when Carter had grabbed him. He watched Manny had she glided away, attached safely to Carter's side. He turned and walked away, just before Manny looked over her shoulder at him, a look of sympathy and longing on her face. 


	6. Cut A Little Deeper

Roxie glanced out her window, staring at the setting sun in the sky. She sighed as she put out her cigarette in the ash tray on her bed-stand, and then stood up. She felt like doing something- anything- to get out the pent up frustration inside. She was restless, and decided to go take a run, which she rarely did. Roxie was never much of a participator in sports, but she was actually a good athlete. At her old school, the few times she had shown up to gym class, she had made the mistake of being a good runner. So her stupid coach had weaseled her into being on the track team, but she had eventually gotten thrown off because she had kept tripping people in the races. 

Roxie slipped on her tennis shoes, left her room, and headed downstairs. When she got to the living room, she stopped. Her parents, plus two of their loser "friends" were sitting on the couch, completely doped up. Roxie spotted a few needles, and realized her parents had just taken a reasonably high amount of heroin. Roxie sighed. 

"Hey, Roxie!" one of her step-fathers friends, Max, called, waving like an idiot. "You….what are you doing, sweet thing?" Roxie grimaced and shuddered, completely repulsed. Sure, Max was one of Georges more attractive friends, and was actually quite handsome, but he could creep Roxie out. But he was actually ok when he wasn't hammered or high. 

Roxie was about to retort with a snappy comeback, but the doorbell rang. Roxie snapped her mouth shut and hurried to the door. She pulled it open and found Spinner Mason standing on her doorstep. Then, she immediately did what her first instinct was- she slammed the door in his face. 

A minute later she heard a small knock, and she groaned. 

"Hey! Who's that?" George yelled. Roxie sighed and slowly opened the door, just the tiniest bit. 

"Um…hi," Spinner said, with a confused wave. Roxie looked behind her, and then back at Spinner.

"What?" she snapped. She heard loud, obnoxious laughing behind her, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Spinner tried to peer over her to see what was going on, but Roxie blocked his view. 

"Is Angel here?" he asked, scratching his head. 

"No. She's dead. Bye," Roxie quickly replied, and then tried to shut the door. Spinner stuck out his foot and stopped it 

"Seriously. I wanted to talk to her." 

"Spinner, go home," she hissed, frustrated. What was the big fucking deal with her sister? This always happened- even the nicest boys managed to be manipulated by her shrew of a sister. "We have been over this. You have a girlfriend, and my sister is the Devil reincarnated. It is not going to work. Plus, you need to stop doing this whole stalker thing. It's weird and disturbing." 

"Do you not like me or something?" Spinner asked with a confused look. Roxie rolled her eyes, irritated with how obviously slow this boy was. She had a feeling this was going to take awhile. She opened her mouth to explain again, but suddenly Spinner's eyes lit up. Roxie glanced behind her and saw Angel coming down the stairs, wearing her leather jacket and obviously preparing to leave. Angel spotted Spinner, and coyly strolled over. 

"Hey, Spinner," Angel said provocatively, bumping Roxie out of the way with her hip. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to know if you wanted to go to The Dot," he asked, smiling. Roxie watched the exchange with obvious disgust and considered just slamming the door on Spinner again and lugging her sister back upstairs. 

"Well…I did kind of have plans," Angel said, casually glancing at her nails and sounding bored. "But…ok. You can treat me to a burger. With everything." Angel glanced at Roxie triumphantly, stepped onto the front porch, grabbed Spinner's hand and pulled his down the walk way. 

Roxie watched them go, scratching her head, wondering how that had gone so completely _not _according to plan. She gritted her teeth together, feeling like somehow Angel had just beaten her. She slammed her fist into her other open palm, cursing and glaring at the empty street. After a minute, she realized she was glaring at nothing, since they were gone, so she turned and slammed the door behind her. 

"Hey, Roxie!" Max yelled. "Come over and take some of this! It's so….so….yeah." 

Roxie stared at the bumbling idiot, shook her head, and then shrugged. _Oh, what the hell_, she thought, walking over. 

     Ashley sat in her bedroom that evening, sitting in front of her electric piano. She sighed and played the notes she had written down, but her song sounded like crap. She sighed in frustration and slammed down on the keyboard for about the tenth time. She had to face it- she sucked. Any talent she may have possessed was obviously gone. 

"Hey. Your mom wanted to know if you're ok. There's a lot of….pounding," Ashley suddenly heard from behind her, and she whirled around. Toby was standing in her doorway, watching her. Ashley sighed and shook her head.

"I'm fine. It's just some creative frustration. Ever heard of knocking?" she snapped, turning back to her piano.

"Sorry," Toby grumbled as he made a face. He turned and closed the door behind him. 

Ashley sighed and fell onto her bed on her back, and she stared at the ceiling. Everything was so messed up. Craig has cheated on her, which hurt more than he could ever know. Ashley had been so in love with him, and he had turned around and stabbed her in the back, which was beyond humiliating. On top of that, Ashley's dad had moved in with his boyfriend, and they were planning on getting "married." This had caused Ashley's mom to decide that he was never going to see Ashley again. Then, Ashley had gotten fired from her music internship, because she had stopped working hard and missed too many days, which was a pretty lame excuse to her. 

Ashley ran a hand over her face, wondering how everything had gone so wrong. She had suddenly just jumped into this crazy depression, and she couldn't get out of it. It was suffocating and smothering her. 

Suddenly, Ashley sat up and reached over to her bed-stand, and pulled open its small drawer. She reached in and drew out a sharp scalpel, which she had been hiding in there for weeks. She held it up and stared at it, watching as the light of her overhead lamp reflected of its shiny surface. She swallowed hard. 

She hated herself for this, but she couldn't stop. She thought back to the beginning of summer, when Ellie had confidentially told her about her own cutting problem. Ashley had been horrified and amazed that her best friend could do that to herself, but suddenly Ashley found herself wondering what it was like. What it felt like. Why anyone would do that. Then, one night, after another confrontation with Craig, she had cut herself for the first time. And then…she just hadn't been able to stop.

Ashley laid the cool surface of the scalpel to her arm, ready to slice into the skin. Suddenly she heard a knock at the door, and the scalpel tumbled out of her hand and to the ground. 

"Hey. You want some cookies? Your mom just made them," Toby asked from the doorway. Ashley groaned. 

"Toby! God!" she cried. Toby frowned. 

"What?" he asked. "I just knocked." 

"Just get out!" 

A minute later, after Toby had left, Ashley reached down and picked up the scalpel from the carpet. She stared at it briefly, and then pressed it against her arm as she squeezed her eyes shut….

      Emma opened her locker and glanced in the small mirror that she had hung on the door. She wrinkled her nose, realizing that this first week of school had made her _so_ pale and sickly looking. She made a quick mental note to either get more sleep or spend more time outside. 

Emma tossed a notebook in her locker, when suddenly Sean came up, and he leaned against the locker next to hers. She smiled immediately, amazed that they had been able to become friends so easily again. 

"That computer pop quiz was killer," Sean grumbled, but he was smiling slightly. "I couldn't believe Mr. Simpson sprang that on us in the second week of school." 

Emma smiled wider and shrugged. "I know. He didn't even mention it to me at home at all."

"Oh, I see how it is. You get all his top-secret info, right?" Sean teased. "I'm surprised, Emma."

Emma laughed and nudged him playfully in the arm. "No way! Ok….so he might drop hints sometimes, but what can you expect?" Sean just shrugged.

"Look….there's this party on Friday," Sean said after a minute, pushing himself off the locker. He glanced at the floor, and then back up at Emma. "You should go. We can hang out….maybe." 

Emma nodded and tried not to squeal with utter delight. Emma reminded herself that she was trying to change, and stop being such a huge loser nark. She had to play it cool. Emma tried to keep a neutral face, shrugged, and nodded slowly again. 

"Yeah. I'll probably go, if I don't have anything better to do," she said vaguely, glancing down the hall, trying to look as disinterested as possible. Of course, she had nothing better to do, but she couldn't let him know that. Sean nodded. Just then, they both spotted Gina strutting up to them, looking furious. She stepped directly in front of Emma and smiled at her boyfriend. 

"Sean. Walk me to chemistry?" Gina said. She intentionally pulled her elbow back as she lifted a hand to her hair, jabbing Emma sharply in the gut. Emma winced, but didn't react. Gina ran her hand through her hair and glanced over her shoulder briefly. "Let's go." She grabbed Sean's hand and lugged him down the hall. Emma watched them go, wondering if Sean had been that whipped in their relationship. She shook her head and closed her locker, not really caring about Gina. After all, Sean had just invited her to a party, which had serious possibilities. Emma bit her lip and turned to head to English, a plan forming in her mind. 


	7. Wild Child

    Roxie grabbed her lunch tray and turned to the crowded cafeteria, and then wrinkled her nose in disgust as she stepped around a smashed hamburger on the floor. She glanced around, and spotted Craig waving her over to his table. Roxie sighed and pretended not to see, not really feeling like sitting with a bunch of boys. She quickly headed over to an empty table in the back. She set down her tray, sat down, and began to eat her burger. 

"Hello. Does God know there's an angel missing in heaven?" she suddenly heard a voice say, and she turned to see a gangly boy with longish brown hair sitting next to her. She looked around, wondering if he was talking to her. It appeared he was, and Roxie tried not to laugh. Not only had that been a horrible pick-up line, but it was also poorly delivered. She took another large bite of her hamburger, trying to appear as unattractive as possible. 

"You should get a better pick- up line," she said, chewing as she talked. She took another bite and continued talking with her mouth full. "That one sucked. Tell me, does that actually work?" 

The boy looked at her, slightly surprised. Then he looked into his lap. "No," he said in a small, defeated voice. Roxie nodded. She gave him the once over, and decided he didn't look like the large, aggressive football player type who used only one-syllable sentences. She decided that, for once, she was going to try to be nice. And if it didn't work, that was just too bad.

"I'm J.T," the boy said a minute later. "Was that better?" 

"Slightly." 

"Are you new?" he asked. Roxie nodded. "Gee, I guess no one warned you about this place. They watch you like a hawk." J.T pointed to his eye, and then to Mr. Raditch, who was walking aimlessly around the cafeteria, eyeing students suspiciously.  

"Oh yeah?" Roxie asked. "I was thinking about leaving after lunch. Think it'll work?"

"If you can get by the armed snipers on the roofs," J.T said with a large, goofy grin. "After that, you're home free." Roxie allowed herself to laugh slightly. 

"J.T, sweetie," Roxie heard someone else say. "Stop hassling the new student, will you?" It was Paige, who was standing in front of their table, eyeing them thoughtfully. "Hun, we sit here." She was talking to Roxie now, and the disdain was practically dripping from her mouth. Roxie set down her hamburger and shrugged. She gestured toward the mostly vacant table. "Ok. Have a seat. I don't mind." 

Paige rolled her eyes and threw her lunch bag down on the table, glancing at her friends. "Whatever. I can't find Spin, so I'll guess we'll be sitting here. Oh, and we can't forget the fact that Ash refuses to even sit at the same table as Craig." Paige sat down directly across from Roxie and glanced at Craig's table. The boys were engaged in a thrilling game, which consisted of tossing popcorn at each others mouths and trying to get it in. Another girl with long dark brown hair sat next to her. A pale girl with red pigtails took a seat next to Roxie, and the girl who Roxie assumed was Ashley, considering the face she made after Paige's last comment, sat down next to her. Roxie shifted uncomfortably in her seat. This was….awkward. 

"Paige. Don't be rude to my new friend," J.T said, grinning Roxie. "We were just getting to know each other." 

"Ew, J.T, stop being creepy. I'm sure- Roxie, is it?" Paige asked a bit scornfully, looking at Roxie. Roxie nodded and then Paige continued. "I'm sure Roxie is already frightened of you. But how was your vacation?" She went from insulting to nice in a matter of seconds, and Roxie only half listened as J.T launched into a narrative about his vacation. She picked at her apple and glanced around. 

Roxie spotted Angel walking toward a table across the room, and she narrowed her eyes. Of course, Spinner was trailing her like a devoted puppy. Angel might as well have had a leash on Spinner-it wouldn't have been any different. Roxie glanced at Paige, who was laughing at J.T, and who apparently hadn't noticed her boyfriend's devotion to her sister. Roxie watched as Angel and Spinner sat down side by side. 

"Are you serious, J.T?" she heard Paige say, and Roxie tried to make eye contact with her sister. When she did, her sister simply grinned at her and gave her the finger. Then she stood up and walked over to get a drink, so Roxie quickly jumped up and hurried over. 

"Are you and Spinner going out?" she demanded quietly. Her sister completely ignored her, so she sighed loudly. "Fine. But I'm sitting with his girlfriend over there, so just….I don't know. Don't embarrass me." With that, Roxie turned and stomped over to her table. Paige gave her a curious look, but Roxie just ignored it. She glanced over at her sister, who was looking at her. Angel smirked slightly, and then leaned over, grabbed Spinner by the face, and proceeded to kiss him in front of everyone. Not just a peck on the cheek, but a real, long, kiss. Roxie's mouth fell open in surprise.  

"Oh, my, God!" she heard, and turned to see Paige jump up from her chair. Roxie watched in horror as Paige stalked over to the table where her boyfriend was currently making out with her sister, and clearly enjoying it. Then Roxie sighed, realizing she stepped right into that one. Why did she have to tell Angel she was sitting with Spinner's girlfriend? 

"Spinner!" Paige yelled, slamming her hand down on the table. Spinner tore himself away from Angel and turned to Paige with a look of horror and shock on his face. Angel, meanwhile, sat back and smiled like a coy cat, clearly enjoying the scene she had created in front of her. Spinner began sputtering. 

"I…I…she kissed…but…" he began, but Paige cut him off. 

"I can't believe you, Spinner!" she yelled, then glanced around, as if realizing that she had drawn the attention of the whole cafeteria. She leaned in and lowered her voice. "I can't believe you." Then, she grabbed Spinner's milk carton, held it up, and poured it over Spinner's unruly golden locks. Then she tossed the carton on the ground and trooped out of the cafeteria, head held high. 

Manny leaned against the sink, and glanced around slyly. Class had just started, but Manny was standing in the bathroom with Sadie, one of her new friends. Sadie glanced in the mirror and ran a hand through her long, dark red hair, and then looked at Manny. 

"Looks like no ones around," Sadie said, reaching into her bag. She pulled out a bag of pot, and tossed it at Manny. "Just because I'm your friend doesn't mean you don't have to pay me." She turned back to the mirror to apply some lip gloss. Manny nodded and cautiously placed the bag into her backpack. 

"You know I don't have money now. Besides, it's for me and Carter and that party this weekend. He'll pay you," she said, shrugging. She made a mental note to inform Carter that he owed Sadie some money. Manny also turned and looked into the mirror, scrutinizing her appearance. 

"Oh. Whatever. So, how are you and the Carter stud?" Sadie asked. Sadie had known Carter since practically birth, and Manny knew that Sadie understood Carter better than anyone. At times it made Manny a little uneasy, but Sadie wasn't the one Carter was attracted too. Manny shrugged casually. 

"Fine, I guess," she said, and bit her lip, hoping Sadie didn't notice her expression. She was a little rattled by her encounter with Craig the other day, and she wondered if it showed. She had tried to be cold to him, but she couldn't ignore the pounding of her heart whenever she was around him. It worried Manny. She thought she had been over Craig, but now she wasn't so sure. 

"I can't wait for this party. It's going to be….fun," she said, deciding to change the subject. She grinned at Sadie in the mirror. "Carter and I are going to have a fabulous time."  Sadie gave her a look, and she smirked slightly. 

"I bet you are. Planning to wear your sexiest lingerie and seduce Carter in one of Charlie's thousands of bedrooms?" Sadie teased, poking Manny in the arm. "It's so typical that Carter is getting some. No wonder he went out with you." She was joking, but Manny bit her lip and glanced at the floor. "What? Is Carter not up to your standards? Is it not…good?" She was still wearing a goofy grin, but Manny was frowning at her feet. Sadie looked at her and frowned, too. __

"No. We're not….having sex," Manny said, finally looking at Sadie. "I know he wants to. But I don't know. It's like I haven't gotten there. I don't think I'm ready. I mean, I am. I am now…" Manny trailed off. 

"Wait…you're a virgin? I'm surprised." 

"No," Manny said, thinking back on her first time with Craig. It had been so spontaneous and random that Manny hadn't known what to expect, but Craig had been a complete gentlemen about it. Of course, once it was over, he started stuttering and looking guilty, and then had finally told Manny that he "thought she should leave." She had, and then had gone home, completely confused about the whole thing. "I've been with….one guy." 

"Oh. Do you want to do it with Carter?" Sadie asked, and Manny thought for a minute. She did, but at the same time she was afraid that what happened with Craig would happen with Carter. 

"Yeah," Manny said, looking at Sadie. She made an immediate decision. "I'm going to do it with him after the party this weekend." Sadie looked surprised. She opened her mouth to respond, but the door to the bathroom suddenly opened, and Emma walked in. Manny tensed up as Emma walked up to the sink next to her. 

"I've got to go," Sadie said, picking up her bag. She gave Manny a meaningful look and then walked out, leaving Manny alone with Emma. 

"Manny," Emma said, looking at her in the mirror as she washed some paint off her hands. Manny looked back. 

"Emma." 

Silence. Manny decided to just leave, so she picked up her book bag. As she did, her bag of marijuana fell out of the front pocket, and landed at Emma's feet. Manny gulped and froze, waiting for Emma to run out of the bathroom and tell the nearest teacher she could find. Emma looked down and stared at the bag, then looked up at Manny. 

"Manny, what are you doing with that?" she said slowly. Manny rolled her eyes and quickly bent down to pick it up.

"It's none of your business, Em," she said, wincing as she let her friend's old nickname slip. She was about to turn and leave when Emma spoke up.

"I want some," she said quickly, as if afraid she was going to back down. "I'll pay." 

Manny turned, sure that her jaw was brushing the floor. Perfect Emma Nelson was offering to pay her for some pot? Manny had now seen everything. Maybe Emma was trying to be less of a….nerd? Manny wasn't sure, but she was about to blatantly reject Emma's offer, when she stopped and thought twice. She did need money…and Emma did need to live a little.

"Ok." she pulled out the pot and then pulled out another small Baggie, and set it down on the sink. She gave Emma a reasonable amount, and then handed it to her. Emma stared at it for a second, and then gently took it from Manny's hand. Manny smirked. 

"I don't have any money with me, but I promise I'll pay you tomorrow," Emma said. Manny nodded; sure that Emma would be true to her word. Manny picked up her book bag again and turned and headed out of the bathroom. She turned just before she opened the door. "You going to the party on Friday?" Emma nodded, and Manny nodded, too. "Maybe I'll see you there." Manny exited the bathroom, still smiling. 

Emma was taking a walk on the wild side, and Manny was about to make a hefty sum because of it. It all sounded good to her. 


	8. Tonights The Night

Craig opened his locker, relieved that it was Thursday, because that meant it was almost Friday, which meant it was almost the weekend. Craig stuffed some books into his bag, but realized he really didn't have much homework. He looked up and spotted Jimmy and Marco walking toward him.

"This week is taking forever!" Jimmy said. "It feels like Monday. But it was kind of interesting, with the whole Spinner and Paige thing. I guess Spinner and Angel are going out now, and Paige was beyond pissed at him. I think I overheard her and Hazel discussing exactly how to run him over with a car. " Craig nodded and sighed.

"Looks like Spinner and I are in the same boat."

"Except Spinner went out with Angel after Paige found out about them, and you went out with Manny while you were still going out with Ashley, so it's not….completely…the same…" Marco said, trailing off when he saw Craig's glare. He shrugged. "Never mind. I'll shut up now."

"I just can't believe I screwed up so bad," Craig said, throwing up his arms. "Now everyone hates me!"

"Don't worry. I still like you," Marco said with a smile, putting a hand on Craig's arm. Craig stared down at Marco's hand uneasily, then back up at Marco.

"Dude….could you be any more gay?" Jimmy said with a little laugh, and Marco quickly drew his hand back.

"Not like that! I meant, you still have your friends, even if you have lost Manny and Ashley," Marco explained. Craig shrugged and sighed.

"You know what? I' m done," Craig said, putting up his hands as if he were surrendering. "I've been bitching about this since school started, and it hasn't made anything better. You guys were right- I need to move on."

"That's the spirit," Jimmy said, slugging Craig in the arm. Craig nodded and smiled.

"That's why I'm going to invite Roxie to Charlie Dover's party tomorrow night," he said, looking pleased. "That is, if she doesn't flat out turn me down."

"No," Roxie said into the phone as she sat on her bed that night. "I'll pass, thanks."

"Oh, come on!" Craig responded. "It will be fun. It's not a date…I just thought it'd be cool if we went together."

"Sounds like a date to me."

"Fine. Call it what you will. But will you still come?" Craig asked. "Charlie's parties are always really awesome. He lives in the huge mansion, and he's filthy rich."

Roxie sighed as loudly as she could and tried to sound as exasperated as she could. "_Ok-ay_. I'll go," she said irritably, although she wasn't _that_ upset. She was actually excited, but she just liked to be ornery and dramatic. She folded her arms over her chest and smirked into the phone. "But don't get fresh with me, Craig Manning. I carry various knives and pepper spray with me at all times." She heard Craig laugh, and she smiled. He was totally adorable.

"Fair warning, I guess. Don't worry- I'm not the least bit attracted to you. So I'll drop by your house at eight tomorrow?" he teased, and Roxie smiled. She decided to ignore the first part, and she nodded.

"Alright. See you tomorrow," she said, getting ready to hang up.

"Oh, Roxie," she heard him say. "You can bring the knives, but lose the pepper spray, ok?"

    Emma took a sip of beer, resisting the urge to spit it out. She thought beer tasted gross, but she could bare it. Besides, she was just beginning to get a buzz. She smiled at the basketball player she was talking to, and also resisted the urge to tug down the hem of her skirt. Earlier in the week she had bough a tight, short black skirt, and a low cut, sparkly, hot pink tank top, which she had decided to wear that night. With her flawless makeup and straight hair, Emma knew she looked good. The problem was, she couldn't stop feeling self conscious. She had to face it- she couldn't pull of the slightly- slutty look like Manny. And it wasn't like she completely wanted to transform like Manny….she just needed to loosen up.

"So the buzzer was just about to go off, so I faked to the left, and then dribbled right by this massive center," the basketball player said, leaning in close to Emma. "He knew he couldn't stop me, so he just kind of stood there while I dunked the winning point. I mean, we totally would have lost if it hadn't been for me."

Emma smiled politely and nodded, wondering if all athletes were this boring. She sipped her beer again and glanced around. She spotted Sean walk in the door, without Gina. Emma smiled and turned to the boy next to her.

"I'll be right back," she lied. She had no intention of returning, but she figured it was the easiest thing to do. The boy smiled at her and nodded.

"Hurry back, sexy," he called after her as she hurried off. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Hey, Sean," she said, and Sean looked up. He smiled softly and nodded at her.

"Hey, Emma. You look….good," he said, glancing her up and down. Emma smiled modestly and shrugged, still clutching her beer in her hand.

"Where's Gina?" she asked boldly, deciding to just get to the point. Sean shrugged.

"I don't know. She got pissed at me yesterday and said she wasn't going to come. So I just came alone," he said. He didn't sound extremely disappointed. "Wow…this place is sweet." He glanced around the large marble foyer, and Emma nodded in agreement.

"You should see the pool," she said. "It's amazing." She paused, and then gestured with her cup. "You want something to drink?"

"Sure," he said. "Lead the way." Emma nodded and turned and headed for the kitchen, secretly grinning to herself. This was going to be an amazing night. She could feel it.

      Roxie walked into Charlie Dover's large mansion, and whistled, clearly impressed. The large house was packed with kids and Craig and Roxie had to shove their way through the front hall. Roxie nearly collided into a small statue of a horse, which probably cost more than her entire house. She steadied it and then turned to Craig with a large grin.

"Wow. This place is tight," she said. "Would you be offended if I went off and found Charlie Dover? I think I want to marry him."

Craig smiled and shrugged. "Not really. My ego is already bruised by just being here."

The two wandered through the massive living room and out to the patio. Off to the left was a large, sparkling pool, and lights that had been strung up illuminated the patio in a soft glow. Roxie spotted Spinner and Angel sitting on a patio couch, with a few of Angel's friends. Roxie rolled her eyes in distaste.

"There's Spinner," Craig pointed out.  "I sure hope Paige isn't here."

"Do you think she'll start something with Angel?" Roxie asked excitedly. "I'd love to see Paige just kick the shit out of my sister." She looked at Craig quickly, realizing that didn't exactly ooze with sisterly love. Craig gave her an odd look and shrugged.

"You don't like your sister much, do you?" he said, glancing at Spin and Angel. "I'm not sure. Paige can be pretty vicious…" he trailed off, and nodded toward the right. "Looks like we'll get to see. There's Paige and Hazel….oh, and Ashley." He blushed slightly, and looked away. Roxie narrowed her eyes.

"What is with you and this Ashley girl?" Roxie asked, folding her arms over her chest. Craig shrugged.

"Long story. Maybe another time. But look…their heading over there. This should be interesting," Craig said, clearly trying to change the topic. Roxie decided not to say anything else, and turned to watch as Paige approached Spinner…

"Hello, Spinner," Paige said coldly, glaring at Spinner. "Hello, Spinner's piece of trash." She glared at Angel, who was smirking at her. Usually, Paige wouldn't have lost her cool like this, and would have deviously plotted some way to get back at Spinner, instead of just approaching him. Paige was more the type to plot some elaborate scheme, rather than just blow up. But she couldn't help it. The fact that Spinner and Angel had showed up at the party that _Spinner_ and _Paige _were supposed to have gone to together bothered her. She was going to settle this now.

"Paige. Umm…" Spinner glanced nervously from Angel to Paige, and rubbed his hands on his jeans.

"Save it, Spinner. I just came over here to tell you that I have a box of all your things that I would like removed from my house immediately. Maybe you can give them to Angel here."

Angel tossed the cigarette that she had been smoking carelessly at Paige's feet, and Paige stepped back to avoid it. Angel stood up, looking cool and collected.

"Barbie, let me explain something to you," Angel said. She glanced at Spinner. "Spinner no longer likes you. He likes me," she said, pointing to herself. "I can see why. You try way too hard, you dress like a cheap whore, and that layer of tacky makeup is so obvious, it's sad. He's over you. So why don't you go off and find some other ex-boyfriend to hassle." She made a shooing gesture with her hands.

"You are such a slut!" Paige said, clearly angry. She was clenching her fists at her side.

"And you're a pathetic loser," Angel retorted smoothly. "So what? Seriously-go away. You're beginning to annoy me." Angel turned away to sit back down, but Paige suddenly reached out and shoved her- hard. Angel stumbled, and then regained her balance and slowly turned to face Paige.

"You are so going to wish you hadn't done that," Angel hissed, her jaw clenching. She reached out and shoved Paige with all her strength. Paige went flying backward into the pool, and she landed with a large splash.

Spinner immediately jumped up, and Hazel turned to the pool in shock. "Oh, my God!"

A second later Paige emerged to the surface, sputtering and splashing. She made her way to the edge and began to climb out. Hazel and Ashley reached down and struggled to help their friend out of the pool, but Paige shrugged them off. She turned to Angel with poison in her eyes, soaking wet and furious.

"You are going to pay for that," she said in a low voice, and then she turned and stalked away. Ashley and Hazel followed her, but not before they both gave Spinner cold, hard looks.


	9. Naughty Girl

 Authors Note**Thanks for the reviews! They're really great, and I hope you'll all continue reviewing, good or bad! I'm hoping to be a writer someday, so I thought it would be cool to get some practice in the meantime. It's so much easier to write a story when all the characters and background is figured out for you. This story will probably be pretty long, but I'm not sure. Thanks!**

    Roxie sat back on the couch in the dimly lit den, cradling a can of beer in her hand. She sighed and glanced at Craig. "I can't believe my sister did that. She's like, an embarrassment to the whole family. Not that my family has much to be proud of," Roxie said, trailing off and glancing into the can she was holding. "This is always how it goes. Angel does all this stupid stuff, and I get blamed for it."

"No one is blaming you for that. Or anything Angel has done," Craig pointed out. Roxie sighed and shrugged.

"But Paige is going to hate my now, and so will all her friends. She strikes me as the type who can basically destroy you. Its not that I care about Paige much, but I just want this year to be peaceful and uneventful."

"Yeah…don't worry about Paige. She hates me, too. So what? Paige can hate us together," Craig said, smiling, as he casually laid his arm behind Roxie on the couch. Roxie smiled at him slowly and took another sip of beer.

"You're a good friend, Craig," Roxie said. "Here I am bitching about my sister, and you're still sitting next to me."

"I've done my share of bitching in the last couple of weeks, so it's no big deal. I'm just glad you came tonight. You're special…not like all the other girls. I really like you." He smiled sheepishly and glanced away. "God, that sounded lame."

"No, it wasn't. And thanks…" Roxie breathed, leaning in a little closer. Craig did, too, and suddenly they were kissing. It completely caught Roxie by surprise, but she quickly got into it. She shifted in her seat and wrapped her long arms around Craig's neck, loving the feeling of his body so close to hers.

"Guys! Have you seen Paige?" someone suddenly said loudly in front of them, and Roxie and Craig pulled away from each other. Spinner was standing in front of them, and Craig leaned back on the couch and sighed, running a hand through his curly hair.

"No, Spin," he said, clearly agitated. "But thanks for asking!"

Roxie quickly got up and looked at Craig. "I'll be right back, ok?" She breezed past Spinner, who watched her go.

"Oh, were you guys hooking up?" Spinner asked, smiling slightly and wiggling his eyebrows.

"We were….until you showed up!" Craig said, glaring at Spinner. He grabbed a pillow and threw it at Spinner with a sigh. "Thanks a lot."

       Ashley sat on the toilet in Charlie Dover's bathroom, watching as Hazel helped Paige fix her hair. Paige was glaring at the mirror, cursing under her breath. She ran a hand through her stringy, wet hair and turned to her friends.

"That girl is toast!" Paige exclaimed. She put her purse on the sink and rummaged through it, pulling out makeup as she went. "But before I plot my revenge, I have to stop looking like a sewer rat. Hazel, you look for a blow-dryer. Ash, help me with my makeup. We have to do serious damage control."

Ashley sighed and stood up. "Why can't we just go home?" she complained. "This party sucks."

"You're just mad because you spotted Roxie with Craig. You can't leave now! Or he'll know he got to you," Paige pointed out as she reapplied her eyeliner. "Grow a spine, Ash, and take back your man. Craig is sweet guy."

"What do you mean? Weren't you the one who said I should just get over him and find a new guy?" Ashley asked, watching as Hazel pulled out a blow-dryer from under the sink.

"Craig has paid his price for hurting you, and he obviously feels horrible about it. You obviously still like him, and he still likes you. The only reason he's here with Roxie is because he's trying to get over you. Forgive him already!" Paige exclaimed. "What he did was wrong, but hello, it was obviously all Manny's fault. She's such a flirt and you know she totally threw herself at him. You know it isn't going to happen again, because she totally has that beefcake Carter," Paige trailed off, a thoughtful look on her face. "Anyway, go over and take him back. If he slips up again, dump his ass. But everyone makes mistakes, right?"

Ashley looked like she was thinking about it. Finally, she nodded. "You're right. I should go find him. But couldn't what you just said apply to Spinner, too?"

Paige set her lipstick down, and stared at Ashley with a frown. "No. It's completely different."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Ok…whatever. I'm going to find Craig." She turned and opened the bathroom door. Paige turned and stared at her as Hazel plugged in the hair dryer.

"Wait! Who's going to help me with my makeup?" Paige called after her, but Ashley just quickly closed the door behind her.

Manny closed her eyes and smiled as Carter kissed her neck, and she ran her fingers through his soft, golden hair. They were lying on a bed in one of the mansion's numerous bedrooms, and Manny couldn't have been more pleased. She could hear the distant sounds of the party downstairs, but she ignored them.

    "Mmm...Carter," she whispered. She could feel his hands travel to the zipper of her pants, but suddenly he stopped. She opened her eyes as she felt Carter roll off her with a sigh.

"Wait-why did you stop?" Manny demanded, sitting up. Carter looked over at her.

"I don't know. Because this is about the time you always say "I think we should stop..."

"Well…." Manny glanced at the ceiling. Suddenly, she sat up, pulled off her shirt, and pounced on top of him. "Maybe I don't want to stop anymore."

Carter stared at Manny's face, then at Manny's silky black bra, then back at Manny's face. He grinned lazily and nodded. "Are you serious? Because it would be cruel if you're joking."

Manny laughed and shook her head. "No, I'm not joking. I'm ready. I want to….have sex." She leaned over and kissed him hard on the mouth. Then she sat back and waited for his reaction. He was staring at her, and suddenly Manny had the sinking feeling that he didn't want to. How did a guy _not_ want to have sex?

"Then what are we waiting for?" he asked, grabbing her and flinging her back onto the bed. He leaned over and began kissing her deeply, and Manny responded by kissing him back. Carter stopped and pulled off his shirt, revealing a taut, lean chest. Manny smiled.

"Wait. I just want to…freshen up," she said, sitting up and looking at him. She really needed a minute to regroup and get her thoughts together. "I'll be back in a sec, ok?" She jumped off the bed, pulled on her shirt, and hurried out into the hallway before Carter could protest.

She stopped a few doors down, which she had noticed before was a bathroom, but it sounded like someone was…drying their hair? Manny shook her head and then headed back down the hall, past the room where Carter was waiting, and down the large staircase to the noisy party.

Manny walked down, and found that Craig was standing at the foot of the stairs, talking to some blonde girl. He turned when he saw Manny, and frowned. Manny knew her hair must look disheveled, and that Craig was no idiot. He had probably figured out what was going on upstairs, but what did she care? She simply breezed past him and walked into the nearby bathroom.

Manny spent a few minutes in there, fixing herself and scrutinizing her reflection. She took a deep breath and leaned against the sink counter. She was nervous. Not like when she read a speech in front of a bunch of people, or when she performed at a gymnastics meet. She was really, really, really….nervous. She looked into the mirror. Had she been this much of a complete wreck when she had done it with Craig? No, because it had just sort of happened with Craig. There really hadn't been time to think.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, Manny opened the door, walked by Craig again, and headed up the stairs, confidently knowing Craig was watching her. She walked slowly to the bedroom where Carter was waiting for her. She nudged open the slightly ajar door, and stepped inside. Then, she gasped.

Sitting on the bed was Carter and Paige….making out! Manny suddenly felt sick to her stomach, and didn't realize that she had made a small gasping noise. Carter looked up, and suddenly shoved Paige away. He jumped up.

"Manny, it's not what it…" he began, but Manny didn't give him a chance to finish. She turned and left the room, and slammed the door behind her. She ran down the stairs, choking back tears, but relieved to see that Craig had seemed to disappear. She shoved past a couple of kids, and ran out the house, hoping that Carter wasn't following her.


	10. All Night Long

Craig sat back on a leather couch, smiling to himself. Roxie had just gone off to get another beer, but Craig hoped she'd hurry back soon. After all, Craig couldn't wait to kiss her again, and that was just what he was planning to do. He rubbed his hands on his jeans, tapping his foot anxiously. He didn't really know where these feelings for Roxie were coming from, but he didn't exactly mind. After all, he had hardly thought about Ashley or Manny all night.

"Craig," came a serious voice, and Craig looked up. Ashley Kerwin was standing in front of him. Craig looked over his shoulder to make sure she was talking to him. Then he turned back to his ex-girlfriend.

"Ash! Hey," he said uneasily, wondering if she was suddenly going to brandish a knife and start cutting him. Why else would she be talking to him? Craig stared at Ashley's face, and realized she didn't look like she was planning on slaughtering him. She looked….calm?

Ashley sat down hesitantly next to him, and took a deep breath. "I know your wondering why I'm talking to you. But I think this has gone on long enough. It really hurt when I found out about you and Manny. I won't lie- I wanted to kill you. But I can see that you're sorry, and I'd be a complete witch if I didn't forgive you. I miss you, Craig, so much. I still love you…and I was hoping you and I could maybe give it another…shot?" She stared at him expectantly.

Craig stared into her amazing blue eyes, not sure what to say. This was sudden…and random. Craig had long ago resigned himself to the fact that Ashley was going to hate him forever. He couldn't believe that Ashley was finally forgiving him. He had wanted things to be ok between them for so long....Craig suddenly completely forgot about Roxie and nodded.

"Yeah. I've wanted us back together, too, Ash," he said slowly. Her face lit up with a smile. She threw her arms around him and gave him a big hug, and Craig hugged her back. Ashley leaned back after a minute, then leaned in and pressed her lips to his. Craig was surprised at first, but didn't pull away. They kissed briefly, and then pulled apart from each other.

That's when Craig realized that Roxie was standing in front of them, holding a beer.

"Roxie!" he squeaked out. "Um…" He had _nothing_ to say.

"Well, Craig, it's been a lovely evening," Roxie said, grabbing her purse from a nearby table. "I guess I'll walk myself home. because your clearly busy." She turned and stalked away.

"Uh…" he said, glancing at Ashley. "I'll be right…back, ok?" He quickly got up from the couch and followed Roxie.

He finally caught up with her on the sidewalk outside, and he hurried up behind her. "Roxie! Wait!" She didn't slow down, so Craig hurried to catch up with her. When he was finally beside her, he tried to explain.

"Roxie, that wasn't really what it looked like," he said lamely, even though it was exactly what it looked like. "Ash and I have been in this fight, and…"

Roxie stopped and turned to him, a mild expression on her face. She didn't look the least bit mad. In fact, she looked completely relaxed.

"Craig, you don't have to explain. I may not know exactly what happened between you and Ashley, but it's ok. It wasn't like we were….on a date or anything. Remember-we agreed on that yesterday. Hell, you could have started making out with Spinner and I wouldn't be able to say anything. We're just friends. I'm not mad or anything," she said, and then she continued walking. "I just didn't want to be there anymore."

"Oh….can I at least walk you home? It's not safe for a girl to be roaming the streets at night."

"I'll be fine, but you don't have to walk me. I'm pretty tough," Roxie said. "I don't want you to miss the party or anything." Craig shrugged and shook his head.

"Let me walk you."

"Ok." The two continued walking to Roxie's house, mostly in silence. They finally got to her walkway, and Roxie turned toward Craig. "Thanks, Craig. Just know I'm not mad, ok?" She patted Craig on the arm. He nodded.

"Just friends, right?" Roxie said, and then she turned and headed up her walkway. Craig watched her go, confused. He didn't say anything, and waited until she got inside. He turned, wanting to kick himself for not speaking up.

Why couldn't he just tell her he didn't want to be _just_ friends?

Emma grabbed Sean's hand and smiled at him as they headed up the large staircase that led to the second floor. Emma and Sean had been hanging out for the past hour, talking and laughing, and eventually kissing by the pool. Obviously, Sean had completely forgotten about Gina, because he was now following Emma to the one of the many, empty, quiet rooms upstairs. A room where they could be alone.

Once they were upstairs, Sean headed down the hallway, looking for a vacant room. He pushed open one door.

"Oh, sorry," he muttered, quickly closing the door. He turned to Emma with a devious grin and whispered "That one was occupied."

Emma smiled and followed Sean down the hall. He opened another door and nodded at her. "This one is free," he said quietly. Emma nodded and followed him into the dark room. She stepped in and glanced around. It was a large room with a canopy bed in the center, and the walls were painted in shades of deep red. Neither of them bothered to turn on the lamp, so the only light came from the lights of the patio outside. Emma slowly sat down on the bed, and Sean followed.

 "This is so…weird," she said softly. "You and me…"

"I never stopped caring about you, Emma," Sean said quietly. "I really missed you."

"I missed you, too," she said, leaning in closer. Emma was suddenly reminded that behind his ghetto-fabulous wall of toughness, this was still the same Sean she had fallen for in seventh grade. The two kissed deeply, and Sean put his hand on Emma's cheek. She wrapped her long, tan arms around his neck as they fell back on the bed. They kissed for a long time in the dark, and Emma still couldn't believe that she was finally back with Sean Cameron.

Suddenly, she remembered months ago when she had walked into her basement to find Craig and Manny doing the exact same thing she was doing now. Then she remembered how she had yelled at Manny the next day, accusing her of being a slut because she had been seeing Craig behind Ashley's back. But wasn't that what she was doing with Sean? He did have a girlfriend, even if she was an evil bitch. Emma tried to push the thought out of her mind, and kissed Sean even more passionately.

Sean drew back for a minute, and Emma sat up slightly. Then, she leaned over and slipped off her skirt. Sean watched in amazement, and suddenly sat up.

"Wow. What are you doing?" he asked, looking surprised. Emma shrugged and sat up.

"I thought…you know," she said, "I thought you wanted too…."

"Emma, what are you doing?" Sean asked, getting off the bed and running a hand through his curly blonde hair. "You're like, a completely different person. I mean, I always thought you should loosen up a bit….but not like this."

Emma stared down at the bed. "You don't like me?"

"It's not that, Emma. I'm just not ready to do… this with you. I shouldn't even be here. I have a girlfriend, and you know that."

"Then why _are_ you here?" Emma asked coldly. Sean shook his head slowly and shrugged.

"You know what? I don't know," he said, and he walked to the door. "I don't know _you_ anymore." Then he walked out, leaving Emma alone on the large bed. She looked down at her hands, grabbed her skirt, and put it back on. Maybe she was stupid to think that Sean wanted to be with her, after all.

Craig sat back on the couch in his garage, plucking at his guitar. He sighed loudly as he screwed up another note, and finally set the instrument down. He hadn't been able to focus since he had left Roxie's house, because he had decided to just go home. Now he was sitting in his garage, trying to decide whether his night had actually turned out good or bad. On one hand, he had kissed Roxie, _and_ Ashley had forgiven him. On the other hand, he knew that, no matter what she said, Roxie was a little hurt, not to mention he had left Ashley sitting at the party.

Craig sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he sat back on the tattered couch. He was confused. Craig closed his eyes for a minute, realizing how tired he was. It was late, and he could just crash here….after all, Joey was out and he didn't feel like walking all the way to his room….

Just as he was drifting off, he heard a small knock on the garage door. He opened his eyes and automatically stood up. Maybe Roxie had changed her mind and as soon as he opened the door, she was going to slap him. Or maybe it was Ashley, who was pissed that he had ditched her and also wanted to slap him. Craig walked over to the door and pulled it open, expecting some kind of slap.

But he had most definitely not expected Manny Santos to be standing in front of him. Craig stared at her for a minute, and realized that she looked really upset, and there were tear stains down her cheek. Craig swallowed hard.

"Manny! What are you doing here?"

Manny looked at her feet. "I…I went home and my Mom got mad at me…for something. She told me to just get out, and I just sort of….flocked here. God, this night has sucked." She stared at him expectantly. Craig stepped aside and gestured her in, even more confused. Why hadn't she run over to her…he didn't know…._boyfriend's_ house?

"I'm sorry," Manny suddenly said as soon as she was inside. "I shouldn't have just showed up here. I'll go." She turned and began to head out the door, but Craig shook his head.

"Stay. It's fine."

Manny stopped and turned to him. She nodded, and her eyes began to fill with tears. Craig put a hand on her back and ushered her over to the couch, where they both sat down. Manny wiped away a tear off her cheek and took a deep breath.

"What's the matter?" Craig asked gently.

"I don't know….life, I guess. My grades suck, my mom hates me, and tonight….I caught Carter making out with Paige."

Craig's eyes widened. "What?"

"I know. I mean, I knew Paige always liked Carter, but I had no idea _he_ liked her. And I was going to…" she trailed off and bit her lip. "I just can't believe it." Craig was silent for a minute.

"You know, you deserve better, Manny," he finally said. "Better than me, better than Carter, better than anyone who would hurt you like this."

Manny looked up at him. "Thanks. But don't think you didn't deserve me. You were the sweetest guy…" she trailed off and leaned in closer to Craig, suddenly overcome with emotion. All she wanted to do was kiss him, so she did. And Craig kissed back, for a minute. Then he pulled away.

Was kissing three girls in one night too much? Craig wasn't sure, but he couldn't remember ever being so irresistible to woman. He had put on a little of this new cologne he had, but he doubted that was it. He stared at Manny, whose eyes were closed and her lips parted, as if expecting another kiss. Craig swallowed hard.

"Um, Manny…" he said, trailing off nervously. She opened her eyes and stared at him, leaning back. Craig couldn't remember what he was going to say, so he just smiled nervously at her, which she seemed to take as a good sign. She grinned, put her hands on his shoulders, and kissed him again. This time Craig didn't stop her.

_Damn!_ Craig thought somewhat groggily as Manny fell on her back, and she pulled him down with her. Why couldn't he ever resist this girl? It had to be something chemical in his body or something. Whatever it was, he just couldn't say no to Manny Santos. Not that he really wanted too, even if he should.

_You should stop, and then tell her to leave_, he absentmindedly thought, just as Manny reached down and began unbuckling her sparkly blue belt.


	11. Danger Zone

    Roxie walked into the kitchen around three in the morning, desperately needing a glass or water. She licked her dry lips and grabbed a glass from the cupboard. She filled it with water, and took a long, refreshing gulp. She leaned against the counter and thought about the night's events. It had been going reasonably well…she had talked with Craig, kissed him a little, and then had gone into the kitchen, eaten some really yummy chips, and then headed back to Craig to….oh, yeah…find him kissing some other girl!!!!! Roxie gritted her teeth and slammed down her water glass.

She had put on a brave face and had given a nice little speech to Craig about how it didn't matter to her, and how they were just "friends". Roxie wasn't sure if making out was in the criteria for a simple friendship, but she had told Craig they were anyway. She couldn't lose her cool.

Roxie turned to the refrigerator, seriously craving something to eat. She was about to open the door when Spinner stumbled in. Roxie jumped and turned.

"Hey! Hey!" Spinner said, walking unsteadily to the counter. "You are awesome, Roxie."

Roxie wrinkled her forehead and turned from the fridge. She sighed. Spinner was obviously drunk. His eyes were slightly unfocused, and he couldn't even walk in a straight line. Roxie rubbed her eyes with her hands and sighed again.

"You are. I'm serious," he said, slurring slightly. "Dude, your sister is hungry. She….she asked me to get her food. We're up in her bedroom." Spinner pretended to nudge the air, and then gave an exaggerated wink at the refrigerator. Roxie would have laughed if it weren't so pathetic.

"That's nice, Spinner. Hey, I have an idea!" Spinner smiled and nodded at her, looking excited. "Why don't you leave?"

"No. No way," Spinner said, closing his eyes and shaking his head firmly. "Not leaving yet. You're pretty." He said suddenly. He came toward her, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Like your sis-sister, except, different. I think your both pretty hot." He grinned stupidly and leaned over, attempting to kiss Roxie. When he did, Roxie squealed and pushed him off firmly. He stumbled, couldn't catch himself, and then fell into a vase on the counter. It tumbled to the floor, and crashed.

"Oh…oh, no. I'm sorry, Roxie," he said, not noticing the mess. He spotted the pile of glass and rubbed his head. "Was that me?"

"Yes, yes it was Spinner!" she cried, running her hands angrily through her blonde hair. "God, I'm going to get in so much fucking trouble for that! You are such an ass, getting trashed and coming over here, and trying to kiss me and breaking shit!"

"Roxie…" he said, trailing off and stumbling a bit. He blinked, and seemed to control himself. Roxie just sighed angrily. She grabbed his coat off another chair and hurled it at him.

"Get out!" she yelled. Spinner frowned, barely catching his coat.

"Your….your sister invited me. You can't kick me out!" he said.

"I just did," she said, going around and opening the back door. She then grabbed Spinner by his t-shirt sleeve and hurled him onto the lawn, closing and locking the door behind him.

Roxie waited for a minute, watching as Spinner got to his feet and stumbled away. Roxie knew it was a bad idea to let him walk home wasted, but she figured he couldn't' do that much harm walking. Besides, the fresh air might sober him up. Roxie turned away and went back to the fridge.

She might seem like a complete bitch for trying to keep Spinner away from Angel, but she actually had good intentions. Angel's boyfriends were always lured into drugs, stealing, and other stupid stuff, just because Angel pressured them too. Just like Spinner getting drunk. It might be one time, but Roxie had seen this before, and it only led to more bad stuff. Roxie was no angel herself, but still…

Roxie took out some turkey. She couldn't do much now, so she just hoped that Spinner came to his senses. Roxie even wished he went back to that stuck-up, princess Paige girl. She sighed again as she took a bite of turkey. Spinner was on his own now.

  "Here," Emma said angrily, tossing some money at Manny, who was sitting on a ledge outside the school, enjoying the sun. Manny caught the money, quickly counted it, and then nodded, satisfied.

 "Are you happy?" Emma snapped, crossing her arms over her chest. Manny frowned and set the money down.

  "What's your problem?" she asked. Emma was being more of a bitch than usual. Emma sighed and threw up her hands.

"You wouldn't understand," Emma said, her tone getting softer. She plopped down her backpack next to Manny and sat down on the cold marble. She pulled out a tofu sand which and unwrapped it slowly, staring at the ground sadly. "Friday sucked." She muttered under her breath, not expecting Manny to hear her. Manny did, and sat up straighter.

"What happened?" Manny asked, shifting slightly.

"Nothing, ok?" Emma snapped, taking a large bite from her sand which. "Just…forget it."

"Well, my Friday couldn't have gone much better than yours," Manny said, looking off into the sky. "Look…I know we're not really…friends anymore, but if you promise not to tell, I won't. It sounds like we both had a crappy night."

Emma shrugged and set down her sand which. "Fine. Might as well. I threw myself at Sean on Friday, and he turned me down. There. Laugh if you must."

Manny sighed and shook her head. "I'm not laughing. This is going to sound super- slutty, but I was going to sleep with Carter. I left for like, a millisecond, and I came back and he was making out with Paige." Manny said, oddly feeling completely comfortable with Emma. They had been best friends for so long, that Manny knew in a way, she could always count on Emma.

Emma smiled slightly. "Not so slutty. That was my plan with Sean, but he just ditched me by himself."

Manny looked at Emma, and Emma looked at Manny. They both began laughing.

"We're idiots." Emma said finally. Manny nodded in agreement. She opened her mouth to say more, but then snapped it shut.

"Yeah. We're idiots," Manny finally said, frowning. She had more on her mind than just Carter or Paige….

   Roxie winced opened her locker slowly, wincing. On Friday, after Angel had found out that Roxie had kicked Spinner out, the two sisters had gotten in a huge argument. And, as usual, Angel had immediately gotten physical, hence the large gash on Roxie's shoulder, and the small bruise on her stomach. Thankfully, Roxie had managed to clean up the broken vase, and her parents hadn't seemed to notice yet. Of course, it was only a matter of time before they did.

 Roxie was taking out her History book when Spinner suddenly walked up. She gritted her teeth and ignored him.

"Roxie, I'm sorry. I don't really remember much of what happened on Friday, but I do remember…some stuff. I'm sorry. Really. Don't hate me, ok?" he said, sighing.

"Oh, please," she said, with a snort. "I'm sure you're _really _sorry. Look, I don't want to talk right now. Just forget Friday ever happened, ok? I'm sure the exact same thing will happen next Friday, and the Friday after that, and the Friday after that." She turned to face Spinner, who was frowning at her.

"What does that mean?" he asked, confused.

"The more you hang out with my sister, the more her bad habits can rub off on you. Don't worry-you'll be in jail in matter of weeks. Maybe even days," she said, patting him on the shoulder. She tipped her head to one side, looking thoughtful. "I wonder when Johnny, Angel's last boyfriend, gets out of the slammer. Probably not for a couple of years. Anyway_, bye_." She lathered the last sentence with extra meaning, hoping he'd get the point. Spinner stared at her. He scratched the side of his head, and then walked off, looking disgruntled.

A minute later, as Roxie zipped up her backpack, Paige walked up, glaring at Roxie bitterly. She opened her locker, and then turned.

"Wait…let me get this straight. Does your whole family like to hit on my boyfriend, or just your sister?" she asked. Roxie frowned at her.

"What?"

"I saw you talking to Spinner. Do you like him now, too?" she asked, folding her arms over her chest. Roxie sighed and shook her head, already sick of Paige and her crap after about ten seconds. She hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder.

'Look, Paige, let me straighten this out. One- I don't like your boyfriend- not even the littlest bit. He's completely not my type. Two, don't bother trying to insult me by insulting my sister-chances are, I completely agree with you. And three, let me clarify number one- I am so not into Spinner."

Paige opened her mouth, and then closed it. She looked slightly surprised and taken aback.

"Well, I suppose that's good to know. You know, you're alright," Paige said, turning to her locker. "Of course, you get points off for being related to Angel, but I guess you can't help that. Anyway," she said, pulling out a green notebook. "Where did you disappear to after the party?"

Roxie bit her lip, thinking about Craig, and then Spinner. What was she supposed to say- oh, I went home, your boyfriend kissed me, and then I threw him out of my house, drunk? That didn't seem like a good idea. So she just avoided Paige's gaze and shrugged. "Nothing much."

     Emma walked up to her locker on Tuesday afternoon, after her environmental meeting. She was trying for a new image, but she simply couldn't stop caring about the environment- that was one nerd trait she couldn't get rid off. Emma bit her lip as she headed to her locker. Maybe she could make the environment cool. Emma smirked at that one-yeah, right.

 Suddenly, Emma stopped in her tracks. All over her locker were things like "Slut", "Whore", and "Easy" in bold, black letters. Emma's jaw fell open in shock. She glanced around at the few kids that were mingling around the hall, and gulped as she saw Mr. Raditch approaching.

"Emma, would you like to explain this?" he said, gesturing to her locker. Emma opened her mouth, but nothing came out. "Vandalism is taken seriously at this school, Emma."

"Mr. Raditch, why would I write those things on my own locker?" Emma finally pointed out, thinking her principal must be a complete idiot to think she would make it public to the whole school that she was apparently a "slut". Mr. Raditch scratched his chin thoughtfully, looked more closely at the locker, and then finally cleared his throat and nodded.

"Um….er, very well," he said, clasping his hands behind his back and nodding again. "I suppose you're right. We'll find out who did this, Emma, and they will be punished, I assure."

Emma nodded and glanced once more at her defaced locker. That didn't matter much- she already knew who did it.


	12. Run Like Hell

Roxie stood on the school track, shifting her weight from one foot to another. This was totally boring. Mr. Armstrong was forcing them to run lame races, which was much like watching water boil. Roxie rolled her eyes as Marco and about a three hundred pound kid "ran" up side by side, done with their lap. Mr. Armstrong clapped.

"Ok. Good effort," he said halfheartedly.  

Marco walked over to Craig, who was standing next to Roxie. "Think that was good enough so that Mr. Armstrong won't make me do it again?" he said, panting. Craig shrugged and smiled weakly.

"Uh…sure."

"Don't lie, Craig. He moves like a pregnant turtle," Roxie said, leaning over to tie her shoe. Marco plopped down on the side of the track as two more kids started their lap.

"I'm not really the athletic type," Marco pointed out, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Like you can do any better?"

"Yeah, I can." Roxie said, standing back up. "At least I can probably beat that guy," she said, gesturing to the overweight boy Marco had raced, who was panting heavily, while attempting to eat a candy bar.

"Hey! He's surprisingly fast," Marco said defensively. Craig and Roxie exchanged a doubtful glance.

"So…Craig," Roxie said deciding to change the subject. "I'm sorry I just ran out of the party like that…but I was a little…surprised." Surprised wasn't exactly the word- it was more like furious. Craig smiled at her as he watched two kids run around the track. "It's cool. No problem. I…really shouldn't have kissed Ashley like that."

Roxie shrugged. "Whatever. So, what did you do after you left my house? Go back to the party?"

Craig looked away suddenly and Roxie thought he blushed. "No…I went home and….just sat around. What did you do?"

Roxie didn't want to mention Spinner, so she shrugged quickly. "Nothing…you know. Stuff."

Roxie and Craig looked at each other a little suspiciously. "I kind of feel like you're not telling me something," Roxie said.

Craig nodded. "Me too." They were silent for a long moment.

"Why don't we just move on and pretend like this conversation never happened?" Roxie suggested, and Craig nodded quickly.

"Good idea," Craig said.

"Roxie! You're up!" Mr. Armstrong called. "Ashley, so are you!"

"Good luck," Marco said sarcastically. Roxie gave Craig one more suspicious look, smiled and nudged Marco with her shoe as she walked past. Ashley also walked up the starting line. She glanced at Roxie, not exactly looking pleased. Roxie ignored her. Before the party, Ashley had been really nice to Roxie. But after Friday and the whole Craig thing, Ashley had suddenly stopped being so sweet. Roxie figured it was just jealousy- after all; it was easy to see that Ashley was still madly in love with Craig.

"Go!" Mr. Armstrong called, and the two girls took off around the track. Roxie easily pulled ahead, going amazingly fast. Everyone stopped and turned to watch. Roxie was practically finished before Ashley was even halfway done. Mr. Armstrong walked over to her, clearly impressed.

"You're quite the runner, Roxie," he said, patting her on the shoulder. "Track doesn't start until the spring, but why don't you join the cross country team?"

"Um…" Roxie said. "That's ok. I'm really….busy."

"Ah, come on," Mr. Armstrong prodded. "We could really use you. Think about it, ok?" Roxie shrugged.

"Good job, Roxie," Ashley said as she walked by after she had finished. She didn't exactly sound genuine, but Roxie shrugged. "Thanks."  

"Wow. You're really good at running," Craig said, folding his arms over his chest. "I always knew you were the fastest girl around." Roxie narrowed her eyes and punched him in the arm.

  Ashley walked into the locker room, and stopped when she spotted her reflection in a nearby mirror. She looked like crap. Ashley despised gym-couldn't Mr. Armstrong see that she was obviously an_ artist_, not an athlete? She hated how she got all sweaty and her hair would get all messed up. Ashley shook her head as she walked down a row of changing girls to her locker.

"You know what I think?" Paige said loudly from her locker, a few feet away. "People who do sports shouldn't have to participate in gym class. Including cheerleaders."

Ashley rolled her eyes and opened her locker. "I think no one should have to take gym, period."

Suddenly, Ellie walked up and leaned against the locker adjacent to Ashley's, looking cool and relaxed. Ashley narrowed her eyes as she pulled out her clothes. "Where have you been?"

"Gym isn't exactly my thing," Ellie said mildly, with a shrug. "I thought I'd just drop by, in case Mr. Armstrong noticed I was missing." Ashley nodded in understanding.

"Don't worry-you weren't the only one who ditched," Hazel said from her locker. "Spinner and Carter weren't there, either." At this comment, Paige made a face. Hazel winced and shrugged.

"Sorry, Paige. I forgot both of them…." Hazel trailed off. Paige rolled her eyes.

"Just say it-dumped me. But I guess I got what I deserved, going after Manny's boyfriend. Which of course, I feel horrible about," Paige said with a wave of her hand, halfheartedly. "He made it perfectly clear he wasn't interested after Manny stormed out the other night. Carter is a serious hottie, but I'm done with him. And I'm done with Spinner. And I'm done changing. Let's go, Hazel. Later, Ash."

Ash gave a small wave, then turned and took of her gym shirt. When she did, Ellie's eyes opened wide.

"What happened?" she asked slowly, gesturing to Ashley's arm. Ashley glanced down, realizing her mistake. How could she be stupid? Ashley shrugged and quickly pulled on her regular black t-shirt.

"Oh. I feel on this bush," she said, trying not to wince when she realized that was perhaps the lamest excuse ever. Ellie nodded slowly.

"Where?"

"I tripped on my walkway, and fell right into these thorny bushes," Ashley smoothly replied, shrugging carelessly. "I can be such a klutz, you know?"

"What kind of bush?"

"What's with all the questions?" Ashley snapped, closing her locker with a bang. "I feel like I'm being interrogated here. Look, I got to go to class. I'll see you later, ok?" Ashley turned, grabbed her book bag, and hurried out of the hot locker room. Ellie pushed herself off the locker and shook her head as she watched her friend go.

Ellie wasn't an idiot- she had seen the cuts on Ashley's arm. Not so long ago, Ellie had been dealing with the same problem, although she hadn't cut in forever. She more than anyone understood why people cut, and how dangerous it could be. Ellie bit her lip. Maybe she was completely off base, but Ellie knew a cutter when she saw one. And Ash was a cutter.

Ellie headed out of the locker room. She knew she just couldn't confront Ashley- because, like Ellie had, she would definitely get defensive. But she couldn't _not_ do anything. Ellie _had_ to help her friend.

 A month later, Emma sat in front of Degrassi Community School, trying to enjoy a few faint sun rays. She leaned back against the brick and glanced at Manny.

"So, what are you doing this weekend?" Emma asked casually, tilting her face to the sun. Manny shrugged.

"Probably not much. I got grounded last weekend, again. Mom's making me go to some stupid family thing. My cousin's birthday or something. I'd rather shoot myself, but when I told Mom that, she just told me not to do it in the house," Manny said bitterly, pushing her sunglasses up onto her nose. "What about you?"

"I don't know. Bryan and Zack asked me out for this weekend, but I'm not sure if I want to go with either of them," Emma replied. "Of course, I know Bryan's only in it because he thinks he's going to score, so I'm leaning toward Zack."

Manny nodded, glancing off toward the parking lot. She lowered her sunglasses and shook her head. Emma followed her gaze and clenched her jaw. Gina and Sean were walking toward the school together, arms wrapped around each other. Gina kissed him on the cheek, and Sean grinned at her. Emma rolled her eyes and looked away.

"I can't believe him," Emma said, shaking her head in disbelief. "After all that girl did to me, he's still going out with her? What is the matter with him? I thought Sean was smarter than that."

Emma watched them walk up the front steps and disappear into the school together. Emma felt anger boiling inside of her. She thought back to the events of the past month. After Gina had vandalized her locker, Emma had boldly confronted her, and the two had gotten in a huge fight. Gina had hardly even denied doing it! Then Gina began spreading these rumors about Emma. Emma had also confronted Sean about telling Gina about what had happened, but apparently one's of Gina's friends had seen Emma and Sean going upstairs. Since then, basically all the girls had turned against Emma, and all the guys had started hitting on her.

"You should totally get revenge. I would," Manny commented casually. "After what she did, I'd hate her. She's always doing stuff to piss you off."

"I know. But what can I do?"

"You're the smart one here, Emma. You think up something. All I know is that you need to start defending yourself," Manny said, standing up and grabbing her bag. "Don't let Gina push you around, you know?"

Emma nodded thoughtfully. She'd keep that in mind…


	13. Let Him Go

    "Are you kidding? They rock," Ashley said, smiling. "I was going to buy their C.D, but I have zero money."

Craig nodded in understanding as the two rounded a corner in the hallway. "I bought it. I'll burn it for you."

Ashley smiled. "Isn't that illegal?" Craig smiled sheepishly.

"If you don't tell, I won't," he said. Ashley nodded in agreement. Craig glanced at her, pleased to see that she was smiling. Craig couldn't believe it.

Craig still couldn't believe that he and Ashley were actually…friends. It was nice. Craig realized how much he had actually missed Ashley. She appreciated good music like he did, she was easy to talk too, and she didn't pull that fake crap that so many other girls pulled. He also hadn't realized how much easier it was to hang out with a girl when they_ weren't _dating.

Craig shrugged his book bag higher up onto his shoulder, when suddenly, someone brushed past him, and a whiff of perfume floated past. Apples. Manny always smelled like apples. She glided by him, gently grazing his shoulder, and giving him a meaningful, piercing look. Craig stopped and turned slightly to watch her go.

"Craig?" he heard after a minute. He turned to see Ashley staring at him.

"Uh…yeah. Right. I'll…I'll burn you that C.D," Craig said quickly, shaking his head. Ashley nodded slowly, giving him an odd look.

"Ok."

Craig swallowed hard and gestured down the hall. "We better hurry. We'll be late."

  Roxie shivered as she hugged her jean jacket tighter around herself. It was getting colder outside, and Roxie desperately missed the warm weather. She hurried to catch up with Craig, who was walking on the sidewalk in front her.

"You walk slow," Craig said, as Roxie hurried up to his side.

"I thought you said you live close," she snapped, shivering again. "I could have been to China by now."

"You can stop complaining now," Craig said, gesturing to a house up ahead. "That's my house."

Roxie nodded and hurried up to the front door. She waited for Craig, and then turned to see he was heading around the side. She sighed and followed him.

"So, you play the guitar?" Craig asked as the headed to the garage. Roxie shrugged.

"Well….is wanting to be able to the play the guitar the same thing?" she asked, and Craig smiled.

"Well, I just got this great new black one. It's awesome," he said, pushing open the garage door. Roxie nodded and followed him in. As she stepped inside, she was surprised to see a dark haired girl sitting on the couch. When the girl spotted them, she jumped up.

"Manny!" Craig said, clearly surprised. "I…uh…I thought," he began, and then he stepped closer to Manny and lowered his voice. "You weren't coming over…today." 

Roxie stared at the girl, glancing her up and down. Who was she? Roxie wondered, vaguely remembering seeing the girl around the halls. She glanced at Craig.

"I didn't know you were…having company," Manny said slowly, staring at Roxie.

"Yeah, well…I didn't know you were going to be here. We just came to check out my new guitar," Craig explained.

Manny nodded. "That's cool."

There was minute of silence, and Roxie _loved_ the fact that Craig totally hadn't introduced her. She nudged Craig in the arm and then smiled at Manny. "HI! I'm Roxie, in case you were wondering."

Manny didn't exactly smile, but she nodded. "I'm Manny. And…I'm going to leave now." She looked at Craig. "Call me," she said, quietly, and then walked out the door. Craig watched her go.

"Well, nice to meet you, too," Roxie said, rolling her eyes. "_Bye."_

 Craig, who had watched Manny go, turned to Roxie quickly.

"Don't tell anyone about this," he said urgently. Roxie made a face.

"Oh, damn," Roxie said sarcastically. "I was just going to grab the phone book and call everyone to inform them about this little encounter." She thought it was funny, but apparently, Craig didn't.

"I'm serious," he said. "This is just between….us."

Roxie didn't know exactly what was going on, but she shrugged. "What-are you having a passionate, secret affair?" she asked, walking over to the couch. Craig sighed and followed.

"Something like that," he mumbled.

   Manny hurried up her staircase, frowning. The little incident in Craig's garage had left her uneasy. What was Craig doing, inviting Roxie over? Manny frowned harder. She had thought surprising Craig would be a good idea-after all; they had been secretly seeing each other for almost a month. She wasn't really the jealous type, but she had most definitely not expected Craig to walk in with some pretty blonde girls at his heels. She knew Craig wasn't seeing some other girl, because Manny knew he wouldn't make that mistake twice. Still…it bothered her. _She_ should be hanging with Craig right now, not Roxie.

Manny walked to her room, noticing that the sun was just setting. She pushed open the door to her dark room, walked in without turning on the light, and headed straight for her closet. She pulled it open, and began to slip off her jacket. Suddenly, she heard a scuffle behind her, and she froze. Someone was in her room. Manny slowly reached for a shoe. _Just pick up the show slowly….and turn_. Manny hurled the shoe at the dark figure standing on the other side of her bed.

"Damnit! Did you have to throw a shoe?" she heard the shadowy figure say. Manny hurried over and flipped on the light. Standing next to her bed was Carter, rubbing his forehead and frowning.

"Carter? What are you doing here?" Manny asked, folding her arms over her chest.

"Well, you haven't talked to me in a month, Manny. You have to let me explain. You won't even let me get near you, though. So I thought I'd come over here," he pointed out. Manny thought for a minute. She remembered one time when Carter had spotted her in the hallway, and had headed over to her. Manny had ducked into the nearest bathroom-unfortunately, it had been the boy's bathroom. After a few embarrassed apologies, Manny had ducked out and had hurried down the hall, away from Carter. Manny cringed thinking about it.

"So you could scare the hell out of me?" Manny snapped, shaking her head. "Good plan."

"No! So you'd actually talk to me. I'm not leaving until you let me explain."

"Fine. You have a minute, and then you better get the hell out."

"Ok. You of all people know I'm not really good with words… At the party, you left me in the bedroom, right? Then, all of the sudden, Paige just wanders in, and starts talking to me. I was trying to be polite, you know? So I let her talk, but I wasn't really listening. I was thinking about you. Then, all of the sudden, she kissed me. Then you walked in….You know I don't even like Paige. _She_ kissed me," Carter said. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and sighed. "I love you, Manny."

Manny felt her heart melt, and she dropped her hands limply to her side. "You do?"

Carter smiled. "Of course. You're amazing, Manny. This month has been hell without you."

Manny bit her lip, thinking about _her_ month without Carter. Images of kissing Craig flashed through her mind, and she shook her head firmly. Should she tell him? No. Now was definitely _not_ the time.

"So…can u forgive me?" Carter asked, taking a tentative step toward her. Manny nodded slowly and stepped toward him. Carter quickly wrapped his arms around her, and they hugged. Manny buried her face into his shoulder, wondering if he could feel the guilt radiating from her body. She had been angry at Carter for one little kiss with Paige, but all the while she had been doing _a lot_ more with Craig. She was such a hypocrite!

"I love you, Manny," he whispered.

"I love you, too," she murmured, not quite sure if it was true.


	14. Smooth Criminal

Craig walked up the walkway to Roxie's house, holding his English book in his hand. He shivered. The sun had set, and it was cold outside. Craig scratched his head as he knocked on the front door. Roxie and Craig had been assigned as English partners for their assignment, which was due tomorrow. And of course, every time Craig had suggested working on it, Roxie had brushed it off.

The door suddenly swung open, and tall, light haired boy was standing there.

"Is Roxie here?" Craig asked. The boy nodded and took a sip of the beer in his hand.

"Yeah. Come in," he said, pulling open the door wider. Craig stepped in hesitantly, and was suddenly greeted with the sounds of loud, blaring music. Craig glanced around, and then froze.

Ok, Craig wasn't exactly a drug buff, but he did know drug-using when he saw it. And off to the left, in the living room, were about five adults sitting around a table littered with drug paraphernalia. Craig glanced off into the dining room, where a bunch of kids who looked a little older than Craig were playing cards and smoking pot. Craig's eyes widened.

"Roxie! Get down here!" the boy called. "Hurry!"

"Alright. Shut up!" Roxie called as she trotted down the stairs. She froze when she saw Craig standing there. She slowly continued down the stairs.

"Hey, Where have you been?" the boy asked, attempting to nuzzle Roxie's neck. She made a face and pushed him off. He just grinned deviously, slapped her butt, and walked off into the dining room. Craig stared after him, and then back at Roxie, not sure what to say.

"Who was that?" he finally asked.

"My step-brother," she muttered, blushing, and folding her arms over her chest. "What the hell are you doing here?" she snapped.

"Um…" Craig said, holding up his book. "The project. I thought we agreed to meet here, since I couldn't do anything after school…" he trailed off when he saw Roxie shaking her head.

"Well, would it have killed you to call?" she snapped again, running a hand through her hair.

"Well….do you still want to work here, or…"

Roxie sighed loudly, and threw up her hands. "We might as well. This is where I live, ok?" she gestured to the crowded house. "I'm going to get my book out of the kitchen."

Craig followed her into the kitchen, and glanced around. Off to the right, in another living room, he spotted Spinner, Angel, and a bunch of other people lounging around. Roxie grabbed her book, just as Spinner waved to Craig.

"Hey, dude!" he called, gesturing him over. Craig walked uneasily over to the couch. He slapped Spinner's outstretched hand.

"Hey, man," he said. "You haven't been in school much, have you?"

"Nah," Spinner said, slinging his arm on the couch behind Angel's head. "Who needs school, right? I sure don't."

Craig nodded slowly and glanced around at the stoners that occupied the room. "Yeah…guess not."

"Roxie, you didn't say you were having company," Roxie said, tossing her cigarette into an ash-tray and leaning back on the couch. She smiled coyly at Craig, and glanced him up and down. "Who's your friend?"

Roxie rolled her eyes. "Craig," she muttered. "We have a project to work on, so we're going upstairs ok?" She grabbed Craig's hand and lugged him back through the kitchen and up the staircase. She dragged him down the hallway to her room. She flung open the door, and found two people making out on her bed. She sighed angrily.

"Get out!" she yelled. The couple stopped and looked at her. "I said, get out!" The unhappily got off the bed and hurried out of the room. Roxie slammed the door behind them and sighed.

"Um…is your house like this…all the time?" Craig asked, taking a seat at her desk. Roxie glared at him and tossed her book onto her bed.

"You can just say it-my home is like some crack-whore house," she said, sitting down. "And yes, it's like this all the time. Those people in the living room? Those were my parents-if you can call them that." She flipped open her book.

"Roxie…" Craig said, glancing at her uneasily. "You shouldn't be living here. I mean….that's illegal."

Roxie sighed again. "Really, Craig? I didn't notice. Look, my whole family are all drug addicted idiots, ok? But I'd rather be living here than in some orphanage," She shook her head. "You have the perfect family. You wouldn't understand," she muttered under her breath.

Craig looked at the ground. "I do understand. My mom died, and my dad…used to hit me."

"Used to?"

Craig nodded. "He died in a car accident last year. I live with Joey, who was my step-dad before my mom died. Angie is my half-sister."

Roxie closed her book. "Oh…I'm sorry."

Craig shrugged. "Yeah. Me, too." He looked down at his hands. "Hey, Roxie…if you ever need someplace to just…hang out…you can always come to my house. I mean, if you want."

Roxie smiled slowly at him. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." She held up her English book. 'Now, don't we have some assignment to do or something?"

   Manny stared at the screen in horror, watching as the girl slowly headed down the staircase. She secretly wanted to cover her eyes, but she didn't want to look like a wimp. She glanced over at Carter, who was smoking a cigarette and watching the movie with a small smirk of his face.

The group had gone to see a drive-in movie on the spur of a moment, but Manny hadn't realized it was going to be a _scary_ movie. They were sitting in Sadie's new convertible. Sadie and Owen, another friend, were sitting in the front seat, and Manny and Carter were side by side in the back, sitting on the trunk with their feet on the back seat. Manny gulped again.

"You said this was a "light-hearted" comedy," Manny whispered. Carter shrugged and didn't take his eyes off the screen.

"I think it's funny," he said casually. Manny sighed and leaned her hands back against the cool metal of the car. She glanced around. Suddenly, walking back from the concession stand was Craig, Jimmy, and Marco, laughing and eating popcorn. Manny's eyes widened when she realized they were going to walk _right by_ the convertible. Manny gulped.

In a second, Manny collapsed down, falling right into the small space between the front seat and the back seat. She squeezed her eyes shut. A minute later she opened them, and found Carter staring down at her curiously.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"What's wrong with Manny?" Sadie said loudly, getting on her knees on her seat, and peering over the seat to stare at Manny.

"Is Manny sick?" Owen asked loudly. He turned around.

Manny winced. _Shut up!_ She wanted to yell. She sighed, and after a long, silent minute, she sat up, figuring Craig and his friends were gone. Her three friends were staring at her.

"Um….the movie was getting _so scary_," Manny said. "I was scared...and…collapsed with fright."

"God, Manny," Sadie said, rolling her eyes as she turned back around to face the screen. "You're such a wimp. My eight-year-old cousin saw this and didn't even think it was scary."

Manny struggled to un-wedge herself from the seat and get up, with a long sigh. _That was close_, she thought. But she couldn't keep doing this. She had to tell one of them it was over…but who?

   Emma walked into Mr. Raditch's office, her stomach churning. She knew what was coming, but she still couldn't stop that sick, throwing-up kind of feeling in her stomach. _Why me_? She wondered as she slowly closed the door behind her.

"Emma," Mr. Raditch said sternly. "Sit down, please."

Emma nodded and lowered herself into the hard, uncomfortable chair directly in front of Mr. Raditch's desk. She knew what was going on- someone had ratted her out. She knew it was stupid to bring weed to school, but she had only done it to sell it to some kid in her math class. Apparently, someone had overheard and snitched. Someone had warned Emma, just before Mr. Radtich had called her to his office.

"A very serious matter has been brought to my attention, Emma." The principal began. "Someone has informed me that they are aware you have, or had, marijuana in your possession. Now, I don't want to jump to any conclusions, because honestly, it seems completely out of character. But I have a reliable source, and I would like for you to tell me the truth."

Emma took a deep breath, and nodded. Here it goes….

"Mr. Raditch, I can understand why someone would report me having drugs. It's because…well, it's because someone was pressuring me to buy some. They insisted I take it, and pay them later. Of course, I gave it back and said no. Drugs are disgusting. I know you probably don't believe me, but….god, I shouldn't say this…but Gina…Gina Hawthorn was trying to get me to pay her for some…well, I guess it was marijuana," Emma said, staring down at her hands, trying to sound as innocent and torn apart as possible. "I wasn't going to report it, but…."

She looked up at Mr. Raditch, who was nodding his head slowly. After a minute, he folded his hands in front of him and sighed. "I thought there must be a misunderstanding. I didn't really believe that one of Degrassi's brightest students would be involved in any drug activity. I hope you know, that I must question Gina about this."

Emma nodded in understanding. "Of course. Could you just please not mention it was me who told you?"

"Of course, your identity will be kept a secret," Mr. Raditch assured, standing up. "And I'm sorry for the misunderstanding."

Emma stood, as well, and nodded. "I can see how it would happen. It's horrible that anyone would be using drugs, let alone on school property." Mr. Raditch nodded in agreement.

"You may go now, Emma." Emma nodded and left the office. That was close.


	15. Three's A Crowd

**Author's Note**- _Thanks for the reviews! There's going to be another party, and a lot is going to happen at it. So keep reading and reviewing! Thanks_

Roxie walked into her kitchen after school on Wednesday, and she grabbed an apple and bit into it. She turned and saw Angel and her best friend Kayla sitting at the table, smoking and talking. Roxie took another bite of her apple.

"So I guess we better buy some shit or something," Angel said carelessly. She stuck her cigarette into her mouth and grabbed the pen. "I don't have any money, though."

Kayla shrugged. "Get people to bring stuff. Then you don't have to do anything. Invite everyone, and then you'll have plenty of food."

"For what?" Roxie cut in. Angel turned to her with a smirk. She propped her feet up onto the glass table and leaned back in her chair.

"For the party I'm having this weekend. An early Halloween party, without the queer costume crap."

"No costumes? Damn…and look…you already have yours on!" Roxie said, gesturing to her sister. "A psychotic future prostitute. I love it. It's so…you."

Angel sneered. "You're not invited, obviously, so don't get too excited."

"Shut up, Angel. I live here. You're having a party. What about Mom and George?" Roxie asked. Even if they were around, it wasn't like her parents would care. They would probably just join in the fun and get wasted. But Angel hated having her parents around when she threw a party.

"Mom's going to spend the weekend out of town, screwing some guy she works with at his condo near the beach," Angel said, blowing out some smoke. "George is going somewhere, doing some "business" or some shit."

Roxie nodded, taking another bite of her apple. Her mom was usually unemployed, but apparently she had found a job at some restaurant. And George…well, Roxie and Angel weren't exactly sure what he did, but they were certain it was illegal. Roxie almost wanted to laugh-her parents were always cheating on each other. Roxie remembered last year when she had gone to the movies with some friends, and had spotted George going into a motel room with some young girl that was probably no older than eighteen.

Angel leaned back in her chair and propped her feet on the table. She was wearing brand-new, pink sneakers. Roxie eyed them suspiciously.

"Where'd you get the shoes?"

Angel smiled. "Spinner stole some shoes, so he got me a pair."

"Well, that's great for you," Roxie said, throwing her apple core into the trash can. "About the party- just don't get the police called and make sure people stay the hell out of my room."

Angel shrugged and smiled sweetly. "I can't make any promises."

"Where were you during History?" Emma asked Manny as they stood side by side in the locker room on Thursday afternoon. Manny blushed and quickly turned to open her locker. Emma grinned as she slipped off her gray gym shirt. "Oh, I see. You were with Carter, weren't you? I swear, ever since you two got back together…" Emma teased.

Manny pulled out her red tank top and blushed, glancing at the ground. "Yeah…I was with…Carter. I was with Carter."

Emma nodded and pulled on her shirt. "Hey, have you heard about that party at Spinner's new girlfriend's house? You could really hook me up, you know…" she trailed off, glancing around to make sure no one was listening.

Manny shrugged. "I don't have anything. Ever since I started seeing Cra…uh, Carter again, I stopped doing it."

Emma gave her a strange look. "Oh. I thought that was like Carter's thing, you know?" Manny shifted her eyes nervously and shrugged.

"What can I say? He's…cleaning up his act." God, Manny sucked at lying.

Suddenly, Emma felt someone grab her shoulder, and suddenly she was being spun around to face…Gina.

"Do you know where I just was?" Gina said slowly, letting go of Emma and placing her hands on her hips. Emma rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"Gee, this might be your idea of fun, but I don't really feel like playing guessing games right now, Gina."

"The principal's office. I spent about an hour convincing Mr. Raditch that I wasn't dealing drugs at school. Now, where do you think he got a crazy idea like that?" Gina asked, glaring at Emma. Emma shook her head.

"Again with the guessing games. I told you, I don't want to-"Emma began, but Gina cut her off.

"Shut up, Emma. I want you to go to Mr. Raditch and tell him you were mistaken, or take back whatever the hell you told him. I could get in serious trouble for something I didn't even do. I know it was you," Gina said loudly, then glanced around when she realized every girl in the locker room was staring at her. She gritted her teeth together and stepped closer to Emma. "Tell him you were wrong."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Emma snapped, glancing at Manny. "Right, Manny?" Manny nodded.

"Like I'm going to believe your slutty little friend. I could get expelled, Emma!" She shoved Emma slightly. Emma shook her head.

"And I'm supposed to care?" Emma asked, closing her locker and shoving Gina back. Then she stepped around Gina. "That's your problem." Emma flipped her hair over her shoulder and walked out of the locker room. Gina watched her go, and then turned to Manny.

"You better tell you friend to watch it," Gina snapped, right before she turned and stalked out of the room, ignoring the curious stares of the other girls.

"With the way Emma's been acting lately, _you're_ the one who should watch it," Manny mumbled to herself after Gina had left.

"So, were you just not going to tell about the little party at your house tonight, or what?" Ashley asked Roxie Friday afternoon.

"That's exactly what it's supposed to be. A little party, just some of my sister's friends," Roxie said hesitantly, putting on her softball mitt. They were in gym, and Roxie and Ashley were heading out to the field.

"You poor naive girl," Ashley said, rolling her eyes and patting Roxie on the shoulder before she went over to play catcher. "Everyone's going to that party." Roxie sighed and walked to the pitcher's mound, wondering how she had managed to be stuck with that position. She glared at Mr. Armstrong, and narrowed her eyes. _You evil, heartless man_, she thought.

Jimmy stepped up to bat, and Roxie sighed. She threw the ball underhand as well as she could, but it ended up being slow and nowhere near the base. Jimmy smirked.

"In case no one told you, you're supposed to throw it at the catcher's glove," Jimmy said.

"Why do I have to be pitcher? I've never thrown a ball in my life," Roxie complained, turning and glaring at Mr. Armstrong. She placed her hands on her hips. "Can't I be like, small-stop?"

"It's short-stop, and no, you can't. You're holding up the game," Mr. Armstrong said. Roxie sighed and turned back to Jimmy.

After lobbing a ball to left field, Jimmy got to second. Craig was next, and as Roxie bent down to tie her shoe, she couldn't help but over hear Ashley and Craig's conversation.

"So….are you going to the party at Roxie's tonight?" Ashley asked from her catcher's spot on the ground. Craig swung his bat a few times and shrugged.

"Roxie didn't really invite me," Craig commented, staring at Roxie, who was taking her time messing with her shoelace.

Ashley shrugged. "She's not inviting anyone. You don't have to be invited. You just go."

Roxie fiddled with her shoe, and narrowed her eyes. Ashley and Roxie had gotten over their Craig differences, and were now actually good friends. Actually, Craig, Ashley, and Roxie had all become good friends, with no romance at all. But now it was clear to Roxie that Ashley still had a thing for Craig, and it bothered her. One, why was Ashley inviting Craig to a party at her house? Roxie _was_ going to do that. She just...hadn't got around to it. And second, why was she smiling at Craig like a love-struck idiot? Roxie gritted her teeth and finally stood up, after a pointed cough from Mr. Armstrong to hurry things up.

"So are you going to come?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah. I'm there," Craig said, nodding and stepping up to the plate.

"Good. We go together…or just hang out," Ashley commented casually. Roxie narrowed her eyes again. Craig looked at her and smiled.

"Yeah. That would be cool," Craig said.

Suddenly, a ball flew right past his face, and he ducked. When he stood back up, he glanced over at Roxie, who was standing on the mound with her hands on her hips, staring at him. She had obviously put some effort into that one.

"You almost hit me," he complained. Roxie shrugged.

"You should be paying attention to the game, not chattering with the catcher," she said as Ashley threw her the ball. She caught it, tossed it in the air and caught it again, and then stared at Craig. Craig gulped, wondering what was up. _That girl sure has an attitude problem. One second she's nice, and the other she's throwing balls at me!_ He though, stepping up to plate.

He barely got a chance to duck as the ball flew toward his helmet again.


	16. Cruel Intentions

    Roxie woke up slowly and glanced around in the dark. She could hear loud pounding from downstairs, and she groaned. It was Friday, and after school, Roxie had immediately come home and gone straight to nap. Now it was eight in the evening, and the party was just getting started. Roxie groaned and rolled over. _Maybe you could just sleep through it….you really don't want to go down there anyway._

"Roxie?" she heard, and suddenly a stream of light penetrated her dark room. The light switched on, and Roxie squinted against the brightness.

"What!" she snapped, sitting up slightly. Ashley wandered into the room, glanced around, and then stared at her. Roxie sighed. "This isn't a freak show, Ashley. I was sleeping. _In my room._ Is that a crime?" Ashley no longer resented Roxie for hanging with Craig, and the three of them had actually become good friends. Now, however, Roxie wished Ashley hated her.

Ashley made a face and shrugged. "Someone is awfully grumpy when they wake up. I was wondering where you were, so I came up here. How can you sleep when there's a huge party going on in your house?" Roxie flopped over onto her stomach, and stuffed her face into her pillow.

"I refuse to participate in any activity my sister has organized," came her muffled voice. "Where are Paige and Hazel? Hang with them."

"Are you kidding? Like Paige would actually attend a party thrown by your sister. She told me she'd rather "eat a dead rat carcass" than come here," Ashley said, walking over to the bed. "I only came because you asked me." She grabbed the pillow out from under Roxie's head. "I didn't come here for nothing. Get up and go downstairs. I have a feeling this party is going to get out of hand."

Roxie finally sat up and made a move to leave the room, but Ashley held out a hand. "But first, brush your hair."

Roxie glanced in the mirror over her dresser and made a horrified face. "Holy shit. I look like Medusa."

Once she had run a brush through her hair and changed her shirt, Roxie followed Ashley out of her room and down the stairs, where she was greeted with tons of people in her living room. Ashley told Roxie she was going to get a drink from the kitchen, so Roxie wandered into the living room. She spotted Craig and Jimmy laughing in the corner, so she walked over to them.

"Hey! This is a great party," Jimmy said, and Roxie shrugged.

"Where have you been?" Craig asked as he riffled through a couple of C.Ds next to the stereo. "I've been looking for you."

Roxie secretly smiled to herself. So Craig had been looking for her? Interesting. They two had been "just friends" for awhile, but Roxie couldn't deny that she had developed a major crush on him. Roxie thought he liked her too, but she had no idea how to find that out.

"Have you seen my sister?" Roxie asked over the music. Jimmy nodded.

"Isn't that her over there…with her tongue shoved down Spin's throat?" he asked, smirking at Craig and gesturing to the couch. Roxie turned and saw her sister and Spinner making out, practically devouring each other's faces. Roxie sighed and hurried over. She positioned herself in front of them and placed her hands on her hips, demanding attention. Finally, Spinner spotted her.

"This is not ok!" Roxie called, gesturing to the party.

"I thought I told you you're not invited!!" Angel called, smirking lazily. Just then, the front door opened, and Nick stepped in with a few of his friends. Nick glanced around and scratched his head, looking confused. Roxie turned to Angel with a smug smile. "He's so going to get pissed!" Roxie walked over to Nick, waiting for a blow-up.

"Roxie…what's going on?" he called out. Roxie shrugged.

"Angel just decided to throw this massive party!" She waited anxiously for Nick's reaction. Nick just slowly smiled, turned to his friends, and nodded. "Alright, guys! Party!" He gestured his friends in. Roxie's face fell.

"Wait! Aren't you…mad?" Roxie asked, grabbing his arm. Nick turned to her and grinned.

"I won't be…if you'll just give me a little kiss," he said, grinning and leaning in. Roxie shoved him off and rolled her eyes, stalking off back to Craig and Jimmy. _This is not going well_, she thought.

"I really think everyone should just-"she began, but suddenly, a plastic beach ball someone had brought and had been tossing around hit Roxie on the side of the head. She grinded her teeth together as it bounced away. Craig and Jimmy tried not to laugh. Roxie glared at them.

"I hate everyone," she mumbled. Craig shrugged.

"Why? This is a great party," he said, gesturing around. Roxie shook her head.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you were the one who has to clean this up tomorrow." Just as she finished saying that, the beach ball hit her on the back on the head again. Before it could roll away, Roxie snatched it up. The owner walked over to get it, and Roxie held it out.

"If you stupid ball hits me one more time, I'll shove it up your ass, ok?" she snapped, shoving it at the gangly boy. He shrugged and walked away. She turned back to the two boys, who were staring at her. She shoved her hair out of her face and frowned.

"What?" she growled. Another boy walked up and started talking to them. Roxie glanced around distractedly. When she looked back, she saw that Craig had a cigarette in his hand, courtesy of their friend. He lit it, inhaled, and then started hacking. Jimmy laughed, and Roxie rolled her eyes.

"Some people smoke because they think it makes them look cool, Craig. But in your case, it just makes you look like an ass," Roxie commented. Craig rolled his eyes and shrugged.

"With so many people addicted to cigarettes, I thought they'd taste better than that," he said, handing it to Roxie.

   Manny stepped through the front door of Roxie's house, and glanced around. The party was in full-swing. Manny smiled, glad that her mother had actually allowed her to leave her cousin's party a little early. After showing up to a seven-year-old's party in a short, low-cut black dress, her mother had been anxious for her to go, anyway. Her mother had finally let her leave after Manny verbally harassed another seven-year-old after he intentionally stepped on her foot. Manny narrowed her eyes thinking about it. The stupid kid had totally done it on purpose! She would, of course, be hearing all about it tomorrow from her mom…

Manny walked through the house, looking for a familiar face, particularly Emma, who she knew was there. Suddenly, she spotted Craig walking out of the kitchen. Manny ducked into the nearby bathroom, waited until he passed, and then grabbed him by the arm and pulled him into the bathroom.

"Manny!" Craig exclaimed, once she had shut the door behind him. Manny grinned and leaned against the sink. "I thought you weren't coming?"

"I changed my mind. I wanted to be with you," Manny said quietly, leaning up and brushing her lips against his. She stepped back and grinned again.  Then she sniffed. "Why do you smell like smoke?"

"That's awesome," he said, ignoring her comment and leaning over. They kissed again for a minute, and then Manny softly pushed him away and looked up at him. "Why don't we ditch this place? Go somewhere…more private?"

"What's more private than a bathroom?" Craig joked. Manny shook her head.

"Come on," Manny purred, running a hand up his arm. Craig shrugged and looked away.

"I…I can't leave with you," he explained. "Ash is here…."

Manny stepped back, looking hurt. "Ok. I get it. You'd rather be with Ashley?"

"No!" Craig said. "I just think it would look weird…you know."

"No, I don't know," Manny said. "Look, forget it. Let's just go out and enjoy the party-separately." She reached around Craig, opened the door, and walked out. Craig turned and watched her go, then left the bathroom himself. He tried to ignore the curious stares he got.

    "Hey," Emma heard, and she turned. An older looking boy was standing there. A very cute older looking boy. Emma set down her drink and smiled at him.

"Hi," she said flirtatiously. _What is with you_, she suddenly thought. _You've turned into a huge flirt?_ She pushed the nagging thought away, vowing to just enjoy herself.

"I'm Kevin. And you must be….Beautiful," he guessed, smiling at her. Emma grinned.

"Actually, it's Emma. But either will do."

"Well, Emma," Kevin said, looking her up and down. "You having a good time?"

"Yeah. I'm having an awesome time.

"Hey! Kevin! Come over here!" a boy called from across the room. The boy waved and turned back to Emma. "Nick wants me. Stay right here. I'll be right back."

"Actually, I'm just going to the bathroom to freshen up, so I'll be right back, too." The boy nodded, and Emma smiled again at him, gave a little wave, and then headed toward the bathroom…

    "I didn't believe it myself!' J.T said, smiling. He was entertaining a small group of people clustered in the kitchen. "But they actually stopped me and asked me if I would drop my pants! I told the security guard that, as much as I felt a mutual connection between us, I just wasn't that kind of boy."

Manny laughed and took a sip of her soda. The rest of the group laughed too, but J.T was grinning and staring straight at Manny. Manny tried not to roll her eyes. J.T's crush on her was so completely obvious, but Manny thought it was actually kind of cute. Plus, she liked J.T. But the thought of kissing him…it was like kissing her brother. And that thought made Manny shudder.

Manny glanced around and J.T began with another funny incident, and she spotted Gina across the room. She saw Gina glancing around suspiciously. Manny didn't think much of it as Gina took out a small container, opened it slowly, and poured a decent amount into a cup on the counter. Manny was too distracted to notice as she turned her attention back to J.T and his story….


	17. The End Of Innocence

Emma blinked hard as her vision blurred. _What is going on?_ She wondered, running a hand through her hair anxiously. She took a step forward to find Manny, and tell her that she wasn't feeling well. Instead, she stumbled forward, unable to walk. She shook her head and blinked again. Just then, Kevin approached, grinning.

"Hey! I'm back," he said, raising his beer in the air. Emma opened her mouth, and then swooned again.

"Are you alright?" Kevin asked, clutching her arm to support her. Emma shook her head.

"I really…don't fell well," she said, not quite managing to get out the sentence. Kevin nodded and glanced around. "I think I…should…should go home…now."

Kevin shook his head. "You're probably just hot. You can't leave now!" he insisted. "Let's go upstairs and find you a room to rest in, ok?"

Emma nodded distractedly, not quite sure what was happening as Kevin led her through the crowd and up the staircase. She hadn't had that much to drink- she'd hardly finished one beer! Emma clutched onto Kevin's hand as he guided her down the dark hallway, the sounds of the party fading as they advanced.

"In here," Kevin said quietly, pushing open a door and leading her into a dark, empty room. He turned to her and grasped both hands. "You going to be alright?" He ran a hand over her cheek. Emma shook her head, and her vision blurred again.

"Here….lay down," Kevin whispered, lowering Emma onto the bed. She lay down and her eyes fluttered shut. "It's going to be ok…"

A minute later, Emma felt something tingling her neck, and she wrenched her eyes open. Kevin was kissing her. Emma used all the strength she had to try to push him off. He just chuckled softly and ran a hand under her shirt. "Just calm down. You just need to rest…"

Emma opened her mouth to protest, but she couldn't get anything out. "Stop!" she finally said, struggling. Kevin grabbed her arms and shook his head.

"Just shut up, ok?" he said gently, but firmly. Emma sat up slowly, but Kevin pushed her down and climbed onto of her. Emma opened her mouth to scream, but she couldn't. She pounded on Kevin's chest as he kissed her neck, until he grabbed her hands and pinned them down on her pillow. Emma was too weak to fight him off, but continued to struggle helplessly. 

Emma's vision blurred again as Kevin slowly began unbuckling his pants. Her limbs were suddenly useless, and all she could do was watch and shake her head…

   Roxie glanced around, and shook her head. She took another sip of beer, and then tossed the can carelessly aside. That was what- her seventh one? Add that to a few shots, and Roxie was completely wasted. She watched in alarm as a boy knocked over a small lamp, and it crashed to the floor with a bang. Roxie sighed, waved a hand, and laughed. She had always thought that lamp was ugly. _Good riddance!_ She thought.

Suddenly, Angel hurried past Angel, dressed in her black leather jacket. Roxie grabbed her sister's arm.

"Where are you going?" she said, slurring slightly. Angel turned and shrugged.

"I got to go up to Haven Peak to do some stuff. I'll be back…tomorrow afternoon. Clean up, alright?" she said, then turned and followed a tall boy out of the house. Roxie, her reactions slow, watched her sister go, and then as soon as the door clicked shut behind her, Roxie finally called out.

"Wait!" she said, reaching out and grabbing nothing. _Oh…their gone_, she realized. She shrugged, realizing the only solution- She'd have the Easter Bunny clean up the house. It was that simple. Roxie nodded to herself, satisfied with that decision.

"Hey, master of ceremonies!" someone suddenly called, and Roxie felt an arm sling carelessly over her shoulders. It was Spinner, and he was obviously drunk. He also smelled like weed. Roxie giggled and shrugged his arm off.

"No…that's not me, Spinny," she said happily. "That is my sister, Angel. Do you know her?" Roxie laughed.

Spinner nodded solemnly. "Where is my lovely girlfriend?"

Roxie shrugged and stared at the ceiling. "She left. Till…tomorrow, I think."

Spinner's face fell. "Oh."

"Don't be sad! Have another beer!" she said, grabbing a half-full can off their piano and shoving it at Spinner. "My treat." 

Suddenly Craig walked up, and smiled at them. "Hey, guys! Roxie- I think I should warn you. I saw some guy drinking out of your toilet. You might want to do something."

"Why don't you take care of it?" she snapped, taking a sip of beer. "Craig, you're so adorable. Do you know that? I bet you do." She took a step toward him, and stumbled slightly. "Think so, Spinner?"

"Roxie, I'm a guy. I don't think other guys are sexy. Or anything. That's Marco's thing, you know what I mean," Spinner said, grinning. He nudged Craig, and then tried to wink, but just ended up doing some weird blink. Craig glanced at the two uneasily.

"Craig…why don't you and I go upstairs?" Roxie said seductively, throwing himself at him. If it had been any other time, the idea would have enticed Craig. But as he looked down into Roxie's eyes, as beautiful as she looked, she was also totally hammered.

"Uh….why don't I take this?" Craig asked, reaching for the beer in Roxie's hand. Roxie's held it out of reach and shook her head.

"No. This one is mine," she snapped. "Get your own damn drink. Do you like taking pictures or playing guitar better, Craig?"

Craig nodded slowly. "Well, I like photography a lot, but when I-"Roxie cut him off.

"I didn't ask for your life story, Craig. The world doesn't revolve around you," she said, sipping her beer.

Craig glanced at Roxie, and then at Spinner, who was now doing his weird robot dance. He sighed. This was going to be a long night.

     Ashley leaned back on the couch, glancing around. The party was completely out of hand, and Ashley wondered if Roxie had noticed. She also wondered where Craig was. They had been talking a few minutes ago, but then he had mysteriously disappeared. Ashley shrugged, hoping he would come back soon.

"Ashley! You are like…my best friend!" she heard, and suddenly Roxie jumped down into the seat next to her. "I'm serious."

Ash frowned, nodding slowly. "Thanks."

"Well, maybe not the best," Roxie said. "After all, I liked Craig, and you liked Craig, too. That sort of pissed me off. I mean, Craig and I are friends. I told him that, right? But I didn't mean it, you know? After I saw him kissing you…boy! I wanted to slaughter you with a pan!"

Ashley stared at Roxie for a full minute. "Are you…um…ok?"

"But he did invite me over to his house, so he could like me. Of course, some Manny chick was waiting in his garage, and it totally ruined everything, you know? I guess she thought they were going to hang, but I was supposed to hang with him! He's still cute, though, and a total sweetie. But he can also be a total bastard who-"

Ashley cut her off, sitting up. "Wait. What did you say about Manny?"

"Who's Manny?"

"The girl is Craig's garage?"

"Oh. _Her_. Right. Well, we went to his garage to check out his guitar, which was actually really cool. It was black. So we walk in, and Manny is sitting there, you know?" Roxie said, pausing and taking a sip of beer. "Then she said something and he said something, and she left, and then Craig asked me not to tell anyone about it." Her eyes lit up and she covered her mouth with her hand. "But I guess I just did! Keep this on the down-low, k? Don't let any…anybody know."

Ashley clenched her jaw and folded her arms across the chest. "Don't worry. No one will know you told me."

    Craig kissed Manny quickly on the cheek, and then sat up. "I got to go, ok?" He was sitting with Manny on a bed in one of the bedrooms upstairs.

Manny groaned. "No! You've ditched me all night. Now your mine!" She grabbed him quickly and kissed him slowly. Suddenly, they both heard the door open, and they jumped apart. Ashley was standing in the doorway, hands on her hips and scowl on her face. Craig gulped.

"I can't believe you!" Ashley yelled. "I thought you'd be up here with Manny. So….did you just forget to tell me you were seeing Manny again? Slip your mind?"

"Uh…Ashley," Craig stuttered, jumping up. He glanced between the two girls nervously.

"I knew I shouldn't have trusted you," Ashley snapped. "After last year, I thought you would never cheat on me again. Or at least not lie to me like this! Let me guess-you've been seeing Manny all along, right? God, I'm so stupid! I hope you two are very happy!" Ashley turned with a huff and stormed out of the room.

 "I have to go," Manny mumbled. "Mom's probably worried. Besides, there's no one like an angry ex-girlfriend to spoil the mood." She got off the bed and walked out. Craig sighed miserably and flopped onto the bed, feeling like the crappiest, stupidest idiot ever. Why did he continuously hurt the people he cared about? _Because I'm a jerk_, he thought.

The door opened again and a couple walked in. The girl spotted Craig and smiled sheepishly.

"Um, do you mind?" she asked with a nervous giggle. "Unless you wanted some alone time with…yourself." Her boyfriend smirked.

"No. Enjoy," Craig said sadly, getting up and walking to the door. "I hope your time in here goes better than mine did."

   An hour later, Roxie and Spinner burst into her room, laughing. Roxie fell through the doorway and nearly tripped into her dresser. She shook her head.

"Steady, there!" Spinner said. He walked in unsteadily and glanced around. "This is your room?"

Roxie nodded eagerly.

"Oh….it's not what I imagined. Hey, is this a real glass?" Spinner asked, holding up a glass cup that Roxie had drunk from yesterday. It was half-fall with brown soda.

Roxie nodded eagerly again. Spinner nodded thoughtfully, then, out of nowhere, he fumbled with it and it went tumbling to the floor. Roxie watched, fascinated, as the contents spilled all over her blue carpet.

"Never question gravity," Spinner said, and Roxie burst out laughing.

After a minute, she took another long sip from a bottle of vodka she had acquired, but she couldn't remember how. She handed it to Spinner, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and twirled around. She flopped down on her bed and grinned at Spinner. She patted the spot next to her, and Spinner sat down. Roxie smiled even wider…


	18. Our Lips Are Sealed

Roxie opened her eyes slowly as the sunlight streamed through her window blinds. She groaned and stuffed her face back into her pillow, as her head pounded painfully. Great- a first-class hangover. Exactly what she needed when she was cleaning the monstrous mess that was undoubtedly waiting for her downstairs.Roxie closed her eyes and decided there was no way in hell she was getting up. She sighed happily and rolled over.

Suddenly, she felt herself hit something hard. Her eyes flew open, and her then her mouth fell open in shock. Lying next to her was Spinner, who had a dopey little smile on his face as he slept. Roxie stared at him for a full minute, wondering what the hell was going on. Then she realized Spinner must have just fallen asleep last…

Oh, god. Images suddenly came flooding back to Roxie in bits and pieces. Being completely drunk…kissing one of her sister's friends….bumping into Spinner again and going upstairs…making out with Spinner…clothes being hastily removed. Roxie sat up, clutching the sheet to her chest. She was going to vomit.

She had slept with her sister's boyfriend! She was a slut! And as good as dead. Roxie glanced at Spinner again, who groaned slightly, and then rolled onto his back. She slapped him on the arm.

"Get out of my room!" she screamed. Spinner woke with a start.

"Roxie…what the hell?" he mumbled, rubbing his eyes sleepily. Roxie sighed in frustration, grabbed a pillow, and thumped him on the head.

"Get out! I'm serious!"

"Calm down! Why-"he stopped suddenly, and glanced at Roxie, who was clutching a sheet to her bare chest. "Did we…"

"Don't even say it. I think I'm going to puke just thinking about it!" she said, shaking her head. "Ugh…what was I thinking? I don't even like you! Uh-I need to take a shower. I feel dirty."

"Um…I'm still right here," he said, sitting up. He shook his head, and rubbed his face with his hands.

"Unfortunately," Roxie barked. "Now get out-Angel could be back any second. I think it would be best if we never spoke of this again."

"Hey…" Spinner said, smiling slowly. "I think it's coming back to me…" Suddenly he stopped and swallowed hard. "Angel?"

"Yeah. Angel, as in my violent, psychopath sister who wouldn't hesitate to slice us both in a second if she found out," Roxie said. "Now take your clothes and get out. Because if you don't, _I'm_ going to slice you."

   A day later, Ellie and Paige walked up to Ashley's front door, both biting their lips.

"Maybe…we shouldn't do this? Are you sure? How do I know you're not making this up?" Paige asked, folding her arms over her chest and giving Ellie an accusative stare. Ellie sighed and turned to Paige with look of irritation on her face.

"I knew this was a huge mistake, telling you," Ellie said. "I forgot- you don't care about anyone but yourself."

"That is so not true!" Paige said defensively. "I helped you, didn't I? I encouraged you to talk to the guidance counselor."

Ellie nodded in agreement. 'Ok. Fine. But be gentle. Ashley can be really sensitive."

"I know. I've known her longer than you, since grade two," Paige pointed out. Ellie rolled her eyes.

"Why do you have to always pick a fight with me?" Ellie asked. Paige shrugged.

"I don't know. There must be something about you that screams "Pick on Me" Paige said.

After the girls knocked, Ashley's mother answered the door and ushered them inside. She informed that Ashley was in her room, and told the girls to go upstairs. Ellie and Paige glanced at each other nervously as they headed up the staircase to the second floor. Both were thinking the same thing- how was Ash going to react when they confronted her about her cutting problem?

Ellie knocked lightly on Ashley's door. "Ash? Can we come in? It's us, Paige and Ellie."

After a long minute of silence, they heard a solemn voice. "Come in."

Ellie and Paige walked into Ashley's room. She was lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling blankly, wearing a large, oversized sweatshirt. She didn't move when they walked in. She simply stared at the ceiling sadly. Sad, depressing music was playing on the stereo.

"Ash…you ok?" Paige asked, trying to fill the awkward silence. Ash had briefly informed both Ellie and Paige about Friday night, since neither had attended the party.

"I'm fine," she said evenly with along sigh. "Everything's…great."

"Craig's a loser," Paige said finally, walking over to the bed and sitting down on the edge. "When I said go back to him, I was clearly wrong. Contrary to popular belief, I'm not always right." Ashley smiled softly, still staring at the ceiling.

"I just thought we were this close to getting together," Ashley said. "We were getting along great, like old times. All along he was seeing Manny. Again. Why does he keep doing this!?" She threw up her hands angrily.

"Boy's are a handful," Ellie put in. "They never learn. They cannot be trusted."

"I know," Ashley replied, sitting up. "I don't want to talk about this anymore. Why did you guys come over?"

Ellie and Paige glanced at each other uneasily, and Ellie cleared her throat. "Ash…we want to talk about you. I…we…think you've been cutting. Is…it true?"

Ashley stared at them. "What? That's crazy!"

Ellie shook her head. "Ash, you can tell me. I've been there. I understand what-"

"I don't cut!" Ashley exclaimed. "Guys, come on! I know I've been under a lot of stress lately, but I'm fine. I promise you.."

Paige glanced at Ellie, and then Ashley. "Ok. We believe you. But can we just see your arms?"

Ashley shook her head firmly. "Get out. Get out, both of you!"

"Ash-" Ellie began, stepping toward her friend.

"What part of "Get out" don't you understand?" she yelled. She pointed to the door. "I don't need this, so go."

Paige and Ellie glanced at each other. Paige rose from the end of the bed, and she and Ellie both quietly walked to the door.

"We want to help, Ash," Paige said softly. "But we can't if you don't let us." With that, Paige and Ellie left the room, leaving Ashley sitting on her bed. As soon as they left, Ash jumped up and slammed her bedroom door. Then she turned and slid down it, tears streaming down her face.

  Emma stared at the mirror in the girl's bathroom on Tuesday. She leaned against the sink and hardly noticed as the bell ran, indicating third period had started. The bathroom was empty, so Emma leaned against the wall and sat down. She buried her face in her hands, wondering why she had even bothered getting up that morning.

A minute later, the door swung open, and Paige walked in. She spotted Emma and frowned.

"Hun, what's wrong?" she asked, walking over to the sink and turning on the faucet.

Emma shrugged, thinking. She knew that Paige had been date-raped last year by some soccer player, and she wondered how Paige had handled it. Emma just couldn't get the images out of her head, and though she had been dizzy and out of it, she could still remember being raped. Emma felt a tear slid down her cheek.

"Paige...can I ask you something?" she said softly. Paige shrugged and nodded. "How…what did you do after you were….raped last year?"

Paige frowned and turned sharply from the sink. "Why? Emma, why are you crying?" Paige froze, and walked over to Emma. "Hun…did something happen?"

Emma nodded slowly. "I…at the party on Friday. I was talking to this guy, and suddenly I started feeling really…weird. He took my upstairs…to help me." Emma swallowed hard and stared into her lap. "I thought he was just going to help me, you know?" She looked at Paige quickly. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't be talking toy you about this."

Paige stared at Emma and shook her head sadly. "Do you think you were drugged or something?"

Emma shrugged. "I don't know. I…god, I don't know anything anymore."

Paige nodded. "First, you need to go to the doctor, to make sure everything is ok. Second, you should go to the counselor. I did, and it helped so much. Really-you should talk to her." Paige gently touched her arm, and Emma looked up.

"I…but look at me!" Emma exclaimed. "I was trying to change my image, and I became such a…slut!" She shook her head. "I flirted with him. I dressed like a slut. God, what did I expect? That wasn't me. I haven't been me in forever. I was practically begging to be raped."

Paige shook her head firmly. "Never say that again. Emma, no matter how you dressed or how much you flirted, you said no. When you said that, he should have stopped. But he didn't. Don't blame yourself. This wasn't your fault."

Emma sighed sadly and leaned her head back against the wall. "I keep telling myself that, but I just don't believe it. I just want to get over this, you know?" Paige nodded in understanding. She sat down next to Emma.

"I hate to break it to you, but you don't really ever get over it. You move on, but you don't forget. I think that as long as I live I'll remember that night," Paige said quietly. Emma nodded.

The two sat there in silence for a long time, staring at their hands and undoubtedly thinking about the same thing.


	19. Crash and Burn

The next day, Manny took a seat next to Sean in Media Immersion, and set her bag down. Sean glanced at her.

"Hey, Manny. I haven't talked to you…in forever," he said in his usual mono-tone. Manny shrugged and glanced coldly at him.

"Gee, wonder why? Could it be your…crazy girlfriend?" Manny said, lowering her voice.

"She's not that bad, ok?" Sean said, clicking on the mouse. "You just think that because of what Emma told you."

"Hello, have you been here for last couple of weeks?" Manny said. "Gina totally started all those rumors about Emma."

"Maybe, but that didn't mean Emma had to make them true, did she?" Sean said bitterly. "She's completely different, Manny. You can't blame Gina for that."

Manny bit her lip for a second. "But I can blame Gina for spiking Emma's drink on Friday."

Sean looked at her quickly. "What?"

Manny nodded slowly. Last night, Emma had told her the whole story about Friday, and it had killed Manny to know her friend had had to go through that. But this morning, thinking back on Friday night, something finally clicked. She thought back to seeing Gina pouring something in that drink, and now she realized that Gina had put something in _Emma's_ drink, to embarrass her or something. It pissed Manny off. If Emma hadn't been drugged, she might not have been raped…

"Look, Friday night I saw Gina pour something in Emma's drink. I'm guessing it wasn't a free refill. Then, after Emma drank out of it, she started feeling dazed and confused and everything. And…" Manny couldn't stop herself. "Because of whatever was Emma's drink, this guy…raped her. And she couldn't defend herself." She cringed, realizing she shouldn't have told anyone that without Emma's permission.

Sean's mouth fell open. "Emma was…" He couldn't say it. Manny nodded slowly.

"Look, Sean, I wouldn't lie about something like this. Gina was pissed at Emma. I saw her do it. She's not a good person. And look what happened to Emma."

Sean stared down at his lap, a confused and hurt look in his eyes. He ran his hands over his face and sighed miserably.

   "After all I've done for you, this is how you repay me?" George yelled at his wife. "You took my money, you stupid slut!"

  Roxie's mother, Jana, shook her head. "That wasn't your goddamn money! You don't know what the hell you're talking about, you fucking drunk!

Roxie leaned against the piano, watching as George shook his head angrily. "You stupid bitch! What did you spend it on, huh? Drugs? I worked hard for that money!"

Jana snorted, standing up from your chair. "Oh, yeah. We all know how hard you work at your "job", George!"

"Well, if I didn't have to support your god-damn kids, I wouldn't have to have this job!" He yelled, gesturing toward Roxie and Angel. Angel rolled her eyes.

"What about Nick?" Jana said, pointing to him. "I let him move into my goddamn house! You and your son have been mooching off my family for years!"

"Family?" Angel spoke up from the couch. "If this is a damn family, it sucks."

"Shut up, you little bitch," George yelled, pointing at Angel. Jana shook her head.

"Don't talk to her like that!"

"Why don't you just go back to shooting up and drinking, Jana, because that's all you know how to do," Nick said from the corner.

Roxie listened while her entire "family" began screaming and fighting. Finally, Roxie shook her head.

"Would you all shut the hell up!" she yelled. "You are all so damn pathetic! Look at you! God, I hate you! Angel, you're insane. Nick, you're a pathetic high school dropout jerk with no future and if you ever come onto me again, I swear I'll shoot you!" She gestured toward George and Jana. "And you! You're the worst. Your marriage is so fucked up! You don't even know you guys are cheating on each other! Or maybe you do, but you don't care!"

George stared at his wife. "You've been cheating on me?" Jana shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please. Like you didn't know! I know you've been screwing tons of girls who are barely even legal!" she yelled. George eyes hardened, and he kicked the coffee table over onto its side. Roxie jumped. George stormed over to Jana and grabbed her by the throat. Jana slapped him across the face, and he let go. He grabbed a nearby candy dish and hurled it at his wife. It smashed into her face, and she screamed. Roxie ran over to stop him, but he hit her in the face, causing her to fall to the floor. Roxie watched as Angel shoved Nick with all her might and told him to get out of "her" house. Roxie gently touched the bruise that was forming on her face, and prepared herself for what she knew was coming….

   Craig popped a piece of popcorn in his mouth, and smiled at Angie. "Fresh popcorn, coming right up." He handed her the bowl. Angie giggled and grabbed a large handful. Craig smiled and ruffled her hair, and then he heard the doorbell ring. He went over and answered it.

He pulled open the door, and began to smile when he saw Roxie standing there. Then his smiled quickly faded when he saw the dazed look on her face and the large gash on her lip and bruise on her cheek.

"Roxie! God, what happened?" he asked. Roxie stood there for a second, and then took a deep breath.

"My family…got in this huge fight. I…my step-dad went crazy. He started hitting me and my sister and my mom, and then he got this golf club out…" she trailed off. "Then…he left. He just stormed out, leaving my Mom half- dead. I called for an ambulance…but I couldn't stick around." She trailed off as her eyes filled with tears. "There was so much blood…me…you said I could come here…"

Craig nodded quickly, stunned. He ushered her in. Roxie winced as she stepped inside, because of the injuries on her stomach.

"Roxie…you should go the hospital..." Craig said, grabbing his jacket. Roxie held up a hand.

'No…I'm going to be fine. This is nothing new," Roxie said. "I'm going to go see if my Mom's ok later…but I need a place to stay." She looked at Craig with pleading eyes.

"Yeah. You can stay here. Joey's gone till tomorrow, but he won't mind." Craig said. He grabbed Roxie's hand. "Are you sure you're alright?"

Roxie shrugged. "Yeah. I just need…I need to sleep.'

Craig nodded, and led her upstairs.

    Manny smiled at Carter, as they sat at a Bob's Pizza Place, eating a large cheese pizza and sharing a pitcher of Coke. She took a bit of pizza, and then set it down.

"That movie was horrible, Carter. Why do guys enjoy gory horror movies? They have a lame plot and stupid, disgusting graphics," Manny pointed out as she poured herself some more Coke. "I almost threw up at the end."

Carter smiled and nodded in satisfaction. "That's the point, babe. To scare the shit out of you. It worked, right?"

Manny rolled her eyes. "Next time I pick the movie." She punched him playfully in the arm.

"Why don't we just skip the movie next time and go back to my place?" Carter said. "In fact, let's go to my place right now."

Manny nodded. Everyone knew Carter's parents were wealthy, but they were both raging alcoholics. They usually went to tons of social events, and either came home and passed out, or just didn't come home at all. Manny supposed that was why Carter was the way he was- his parents were never around, so he could do anything he wanted.

"Sound like a plan," Manny said, leaning over and kissing him. As she kissed her Carter, she saw the door of the restaurant open out of the corner of her eye. Before she knew what was happening, Craig was standing in front of them, glaring at Manny. Behind him was Roxie, who looked like she had been in a car wreck. Manny pulled away from Carter quickly.

"Craig!" she cried, standing up quickly.

"Manny…how could you do this? I thought we were…" Craig said, looking hurt. "I thought you and Carter were over?"

"Craig, you have to understand, I was put in this really-"Manny began, but Craig just shook his head and interrupted.

"I…I can't do this. It's over, Manny," Craig said. "Just….don't talk to me, ok?" He turned, and took Roxie's hand, leading her out of the restaurant. Roxie glanced over her shoulder at Manny, and then just shook her head. Manny watched them go, completely shocked. She heard Carter stand up beside her.

"So you've been seeing Craig?" Carter said coldly. "For how long? How long have you been playing me?"

"Since…that party…but I was mad about you and Paige, and it just kind of happened!" Manny said desperately, grabbing his arm. "Please, Carter…"

Carter wrenched his arm away and shook his head. "Forget it. Just…forget it." He walked off, shaking his head angrily. Manny watched him go, tears sliding down her cheeks. She fell back in her chair, and buried her face in her hands. What had she done?


	20. Let It Bleed

Craig walked quickly ahead of Roxie, and Roxie had to run to keep up. "Craig! Wait…what just happened? I thought we were going for pizza?"

Craig sighed and kept walking, but slowed down his pace a little. "Craig, stop!" He did. "Tell me what is going on between you and that Manny girl. We're friends. We shouldn't keep secrets."

Craig sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Fine. You're going to hate me, but I've been seeing Manny for awhile. I didn't tell you. She had just broken up with her boyfriend, but that was him in there. I guess she's been seeing him again, too. Please don't be mad that I was seeing someone and I didn't tell you. But we're…just friends, right?"

Roxie sighed and nodded. "Absolutely. I'm not mad about Manny at all…if you're not mad about me and Spinner." Roxie squeezed her eyes shut and winced. When she opened them, Craig was staring at her, confused.

"You and Spinner? There's a "you and Spinner?"

Roxie nodded slowly. "At the party, we got really drunk. You were there. And we went upstairs, and things got completely out of hand."

"You….and Spinner?" Craig said, sounding hurt. He threw up his hands and shook his head. "Can't girls just be honest and not mess around with everybody?"

"Wait-girls? What about you and Manny? You're not perfect, either, Craig. Ashley told me about how you cheated on her last year, and it looks like you're just doing it-" Roxie said defensively. Craig shook his head angrily and interrupted.

"Ok, you don't have any clue about last year, Roxie. And I'm not even going out with Ashley!" he cried, throwing up his hands in frustration. "Ok, I should have told Ash the truth, but-"

"Then you have no right to be angry at me about Spinner."  

"But he's your sister's boyfriend…Don't you feel like a slut?" Craig instantly wished he could take back those words.

Before Roxie knew what was happening, her hand was swinging up, and she slapped Craig across the face. Hard. Craig stared at her in surprise.

"Don't call me that. Don't ever call me that," Roxie said slowly. "That's what my step-father always calls me." Craig stared at her, suddenly feeling horrible.

"Just forget it," Roxie said, holding up her hands. "If you're going to be like this, I'm just going to go back to my house and get a few things, and I'll find somewhere else to stay."

"Maybe you should go," Craig said coldly, before he could stop himself. Roxie shook her head and brushed past him.

   Roxie stepped hesitantly into the foyer of her house, and glanced around. The house was dead quiet. Roxie had gone to see how her mother was doing, but she had been unconscious. Then, Craig had kindly offered to take her to get some pizza, but then the whole Manny fiasco had happened, then the damn fight. The worst part was, Roxie didn't even get any pizza! She was starving. But first she needed to grab a few things, and then maybe head over to Ashley's.  

She walked into the kitchen, and she suddenly heard a voice.  "Slut!"

Roxie whirled around. "Angel!? What are you doing here?"

"I live here. Don't freak out- George and Nick aren't here. Where you have you been?" Angel barked, standing up from her chair. Without waiting for a response, she continued. "Let me guess- one of your boyfriend's houses, you whore?"

"Excuse me? What are you talking about?" Roxie snapped, walking over to the counter and grabbing her book bag, which she had left there.

"I know you slept with Spinner. He told me," Angel said, her voice as cold and threatening as ice. Roxie froze.

"What?"

"He told me. Just a few minutes ago. You're such a slut, screwing my boyfriend."

"Where is he?" Roxie asked. Angel smiled tightly, evilly.  

"I sent him somewhere." Roxie didn't like the sound of that.

"Where is he, Angel?" Roxie said, dropping her book bag.

"You remember Andy Grader?"

"The ex-boyfriend that dumped you after he called a "coke-head whore?"

Angel narrowed her eyes. "Yes. Well, Spinner is going to take care of him for me."

"Because he dumped you?" Roxie asked, confused. Angel shrugged.

"I squeezed out a few tears and told him that at the party on Friday, he attacked me and tried to force me to have sex with him. That really pissed Spinner off, and he's going to find him and take care of him."

"Angel, you told Spinner Andy tried to rape you, but all he did was dump you? Are you insane? Spinner could get killed!"

"He cheated on me with you, Roxie. He had to make it up to me," Angel said innocently. "Besides, Andy should never have dumped me._ I'm_ the one who does the dumping. "

Roxie stared at her sister in pure amazement. She shook her head and turned to go. "I'm going to find him."

"I'm not done with you!" Angel yelled, grabbing at Roxie's arm. Roxie ducked away and ran through the living room, Angel at her heels. Roxie opened the front door and slammed it behind her. She kept running until she was sure Angel wasn't following her anymore.

   Manny sniffed as she wandered down the street. She shivered in the darkness.

After the confrontation with Craig at the pizza restaurant, Manny had returned home, distraught and upset. She had come home to find her parents waiting for her in her bedroom. They had discovered an old stash she had in her closet, and had demanded she get out. They hadn't even let her explain- they had just told her to take some things and leave. Manny had immediately called Emma, and asked if she could come over, not telling her what had really happened. Emma had told her that Spike wouldn't let anyone come over, because Emma's grades were so bad. So Manny had just told her she was going to Groove, a local club.

Now, Manny found herself in front of Groove, a dance club downtown. Manny had gone there before, but she hadn't been there in awhile. Grove was notoriously known for not really caring what age you were. Manny really needed to blow off some steam.

As soon as she walked into the dark, loud club, she heard a voice call her name.

"Manny!" Manny whirled around. It was Sully, her old boyfriend.

"Hey, Sully," she said, still upset. Her walked up and slung his arm around her. Manny smiled weakly, slightly uncomfortable as Sully let his eyes roam over her.

Sometimes she hated it. Sometimes, she didn't want to be Manuella Santos, the girl that all guys dreamed about. She didn't like trying to have a conversation with a guy as they blatantly checked her out. Sometimes, she wished she could just fade into the background. But after all the trouble she had gone to last year to change her image, it had almost become a part of her.

"Manuella. We haven't talked in forever," he said, grinning down at her. "Come on. My friends are over there." He gestured to a small nook with a few couches, occupied with kids that looked like they were Manny's age. Manny smiled and followed Sully over. After a few introductions, Manny sat down next to Sully. He grinned at her.

"We have the good stuff tonight," he said. Manny nodded and saw the assortment of drugs on the table in front of them. "Want?"

Manny bit her lip, and finally nodded. "Of course. I want whatever you have."

    Roxie pulled her mother's car into Andy's neighborhood, and glanced around in the darkness. Andy and his crew were always hanging out at the local park, so Roxie decided to try there first. It was a shot in the dark, but Roxie had to find Spinner before he did something stupid. Andy wasn't the guy to mess with.

Roxie hit the brakes in front of the Haven's Park, stopping abruptly. She didn't technically have a license….or her even her temps. But when she had spotted her mother's keys on a table as she had run out, she had snatched them up without really thinking. Roxie knew she would never find Spinner on foot.

Roxie jumped out of the car, and spotted a few shady figures in the distance. Roxie ran toward them, and suddenly, they disappeared, as if they had seen someone coming. Roxie stopped running and sighed, running a hand through her hair. Damn, she thought. I almost-

She stopped when she saw something on the ground- a body. Roxie's mouth fell open, and she slowly stepped toward them_. Please don't be Spinner_, she begged, hoping someone up there would hear her and answer her silent prayer. But no one heard. The body was Spinner's, bruised and battered, just like her mother had been yesterday. And he was clearly unconscious.

Roxie leaned down to get a closer look, when suddenly someone grabbed her from behind at the waist and dragged her slightly away from Spinner. She gasped.

"Hey, girlie. What are you doing here?" whoever grabbed her said, right into her ear. She struggled, and the two boys laughed.

"Well, well. We better take care of this little one," the other boy said. Roxie scowled.

"Hey. Let her go," another voice said, and after a moment of hesitation, the boy let her go. Roxie whirled around. She grabbed her attacker by the shoulders and delivered a knee right to his crotch. The boy doubled over in pain.

"Roxie? What the hell are you doing here?" Andy asked, walking up. Roxie clenched her jaw and gestured toward Spinner.

"What did you do to him, Andy?!" she snapped. Andy shrugged.

"Look, I don't know who the hell that kid is. All I know was me and my buddies here were just chilling, and this kid came up with another boy and asked which of us was Andy. I said I was, and he just started swinging. The other boy left, but this kid wouldn't leave. I was defending myself," Andy explained. "Who is he, anyway?"

"His name is Spinner. He's Angel's boyfriend."

Andy winced. "Damn. Poor boy. I think I did him a favor."

Roxie shook her head angrily. "Yeah, maybe if _he lives._" Suddenly, they all heard distant sirens.

"Hey, we got to split," one boy said. "We can't get busted again." With that, the boys hurried off.

"Thanks for your help, jackasses!" Roxie yelled after them. She turned and hurried over to Spinner, and crouched down next to him. At the sight of him, hot tears stung Roxie's eyes.

_Please_, she thought. _Please be ok._


	21. Black And Blue

Craig stretched his arms over his head, and glanced out the window. He frowned and scratched the back oh his head, wondering where Roxie was. She had said she was going to her house to get a few things, but that had been forever ago. Craig knew they had gotten into a fight, but he had at least expected her to come back to his house, figuring that's how Roxie was. She was totally the type to get pissed and storm off, and then return an hour later, batting her eyelashes and pretending like nothing was wrong. Craig winced, thinking about how he had basically called her a "slut". He was an idiot.  Craig shook his head in amazement as he realized how down-hill everything was going. Manny was cheating on him, and Roxie had hooked up with one of his best friends.

Craig had realized something when Roxie had shown up to his house the previous day, bruised and battered. He cared about her- a lot. There was something about her that just made him want to be around her, and Craig wondered if she felt it, too. Since last year, Craig had assumed that he either had to be with Ashley, Manny, or alone. But now he realized that wasn't true.

The phone rang, and Craig stood up and glanced at Angie, who was engrossed in a children's show with multi colored giant bears. Craig picked it up, thinking it was Roxie.  

"Hello?"

"Craig. I need you help." It didn't sound like Roxie…it sounded like Emma. Craig tried to mask his disappointment.

"What's up?"

"Look, I can't talk for long, because I'm in major trouble with my parents, but…Manny called me awhile ago. She sounded really upset, and she asked if she could come over. I told her she couldn't, so she said she was going to Groove. I'm worried about what she might do- she sounded like she was crying," Emma paused and took a breath. "You have to find her. I can't leave. Please, Craig."

Craig nodded slowly. "You want me to find her?"

"I'm worried."

Craig nodded, stood up, and grabbed his jacket. "Don't worry. I'm on it."

"Thanks, Craig." The phone went dead.

    Ellie and Paige walked up to Ashley's house for the second time, and Paige shook her head and Ellie knocked on the door.

"This isn't going to work," Paige said, straightening her pink t-shirt and flicking a lock of blonde hair out of her eyes. "She hasn't talked to us all week. Why do you think it's going to work now?"

"She can't avoid us in her house, Paige," Ellie said reasonably. She didn't exactly love hanging out with Paige, but they had finally come together to help their friend. "We have to try to talk to her again. And this time, we are not leaving."

Just then, Toby pulled open the door. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked curtly.

"It's great to see you too, Toby. We came to talk to Ashley. Is she around?" Paige asked.

Toby looked thoughtful for a minute, and then shrugged. "My parents went out to a play, but I don't think she went with them. I haven't seen her, but I bet she's up in her room, playing some sad song on her keyboard. You can go up."

Ellie and Paige stepped inside, and Toby disappeared into the living room, where J.T and him were playing video games. J.T stood up quickly when he spotted Paige and put on a large grin.

"Paige! I wasn't expecting you. Let me guess- you heard I was here, and you couldn't resist yourself?" he joked.

Paige rolled her eyes at Ellie. "J.T, I'd rather mate with a cow than be with you."

J.T winced. "I can be a cow. I can be a cow!" he called, as Paige and Ellie began up the staircase.

 They walked up slowly up the stairs, arguing over what exactly should be said. When they came to her door, Ellie knocked lightly. There was no answer. Paige frowned at Ellie.

"Maybe she's not home," Paige whispered. Ellie shook her head and opened the door, glancing around. The room was empty. Ellie sighed and pushed open the door.

"You're right. Well, that was point-"Ellie was saying, but suddenly she spotted Paige staring at something in horror. Ellie looked into the bathroom that they had added to Ashley's room, and the door was open. Ellie felt sick. Slumped down against the sink was Ashley, unconscious and her arms were covered in blood.

"Oh, my god," Paige said quietly. "Ellie, call an ambulance." Ellie hurried and grabbed the phone, while Paige stepped cautiously toward her lifeless friend….

   Manny stumbled through the club, everything spinning around in front of her. She was sweating, and her breathing was quick and shallow. She shoved past a few people, looking for an exit. She was so hot….Manny stumbled as she neared an exit in the back. She had decided to leave, or at least get some air, after Sully had tried to kiss her. Manny had pushed him off and left, feeling horrible. She hurried toward it as fast as her legs would let her.

Manny pushed open the door to a small ally that led to the street. She could see people in the distance entering the club, but Manny was suddenly dizzy and couldn't focus.

The next thing she knew, the hard, cold pavement was coming toward her face, and everything went black…

     Craig neared the Groove, silently cursing the fact that he didn't have a car. He could have gotten there so much faster. As Craig came closer to the club, he began to wonder what he was even doing here. So he was supposed to go in there, find Manny, and then what? She was probably going to be dancing with some guy, and she would probably laugh in his face. Wasn't Craig supposed to be mad at Manny, anyway? He shook his head. When Emma had called, he had just instinctively got up and left to find Manny. He was worried about her, period.

Craig joined the crowd waiting to get into the popular hangout, and glanced around. He was standing in line in front of a muggy, dark ally next to the club. He glanced over briefly, and then looked back suddenly. Someone was lying on the ground in the ally. And it didn't look good to Craig.

He hurried through the dark ally to the body, and it looked like a girl. A girl with long, black hair. Craig bent over Manny, stunned. She was pale and hot.

"Manny," he said, shaking her slightly. She didn't move. Craig shook his head and jumped up, running back to the line.

"Can I use your cell phone?" Craig asked a blonde girl dressed in a slinky silver dress. "Please. It's an emergency."

The girl nodded and handed him her cell phone. Craig dialed, hoping someone would get there soon…

   Roxie paced in the hallway of the hospital, waiting for any kind of news on Spinner. She had been there for about twenty minutes, but it seemed like a decade. Roxie bit her lip anxiously, wondering what was taking so long. This couldn't be good.

Suddenly, she saw the doors to the left burst open, and a few paramedics rushed in with a stretcher. Roxie watched, and her eyes widened as she realized the girl looked oddly familiar. It was when she saw Craig running in behind the paramedics that she realized the girl was Manny Santos.

"Craig!" she called, but he didn't hear her. He followed the paramedics until they went into an operating room, and someone politely told him he would have to wait outside. Craig looked upset and slouched over to the waiting area. He spotted Roxie.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, surprised.

"Spinner. He got beat up pretty bad…" she trailed off. "What happened to Manny?"

"I…I don't know. They think a drug overdose," he said, glancing at the room where Manny was. "God…she looked horrible…"

Roxie nodded and wiped away a tear. "So did Spinner." Craig glanced back at Roxie, and stepped up to her. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tightly, as Roxie pressed her face against his shoulder and cried.


	22. All Alone

**Authors Note-** Thanks for all the reviews, and there is going to be one more chapter coming up! Hope you enjoy

Paige leaned her head against Ellie's shoulder and sighed. She glanced around at the small waiting area, which now contained Craig, Roxie, Toby, J.T, Paige, and Ellie. Craig was slumped against a wall with his face in his hands, and Roxie was staring blankly at nothing, wringing her hands together. Paige felt another tear roll down her cheek. She hated waiting. No waiting had been more unbearable than this, though.

Suddenly, someone hurried up, and Paige looked up. It was Angel.

"What are you doing here?" Roxie snapped coldly, standing up. Angel shrugged.

"I was visiting Mom. I heard Spinner was here," Angel said, glancing around. "Is he…you know. Ok?"

Roxie shook her head. "I can't believe you're here. This is all your fault!"

"This isn't my fault," Angel said defensively. "Spin went after Andy and-"

"Yeah. Who told him to? Who made him feel guilty…?" Roxie snapped, trailing off and glancing around. "You lied to him so he would go after the guy who dumped you. You knew what would happen. Angel, just leave. I'm serious- get out." She pointed to the door.

Angel glanced around at the other kids gathered in the waiting area, who were all staring at her. She clenched her jaw and shook her head. "Fine. I just wanted to tell you that they found George and he's probably going to jail. I'm going up to Montreal to live with some friends for a couple months." She shrugged and looked at Roxie.

"What about Mom?" Roxie asked. Angel shrugged.

"I guess her and her boyfriend was planning to move to Toronto or somewhere, and I guess when Mom gets better their still going."

"What about me?"

Angel shrugged. "I don't know. You'll have to figure that out. Tell Spinner I hope he gets better…or something."

The group watched her go in amazement. Paige rolled her eyes angrily.

"Some girlfriend," she muttered. Roxie turned back to the group and shrugged.

"Some sister," she mumbled, and then sat down next to Ellie.

Roxie walked quietly into her mother's hospital room late that night. They hadn't gotten any word on Spinner, Ashley, or Manny, and Roxie had been slowly driving herself insane by just sitting and waiting. She figured she might as well go see her mother- not because she really wanted too, but because she felt like she should.

Roxie walked up to the bedside and stared down at the pale, bruised woman in from of her. Seeing her like this made Roxie's heart squeeze painfully, and for the first time in awhile she actually felt something for the woman who had raised her. She _didn't deserve this_, Roxie thought sadly.

"Can I help you?" Roxie suddenly heard a voice say behind her, and she jumped slightly. She turned and saw a tall, tan, man walk in, holding a cup of coffee. Roxie wondered who he was, and then she realized it must be her mother's boyfriend. Of course, he didn't recognize Roxie. She wondered if he even knew her mother had had children.

"Um…I just came to visit," Roxie said, gesturing to the bed. The man nodded and walked over.

"How do you know Jana?" he asked. Roxie swallowed hard.

"Oh…I'm her niece. How is she doing?"

The man shrugged. "Stable, for now. I just can't believe this happened," he said, clenching his jaw. "If I ever get my hands on her husband…"

Roxie nodded. "I always did hate him," she said softly.

The man walked over stood on the other side of the bed, gently touching Jana's hand. "Well, he's not going to hurt her again. We're going to get away from all this."

"What…do you mean?" Roxie asked slowly, staring at him.

"Well, we decided before all this that we're moving away. Starting over. Just the two of us," he said, staring down at Roxie's mother. Roxie nodded and swallowed hard again.

"Is that what she said?" He nodded. "Well…what about her kids….my cousins?"

The man took a sip of coffee. "Jana told me that they were going to live with their real father in the States. I'm packing our things right now. We're going to leave as soon as she gets out of here."

Roxie stared out the window and forced herself to smile. Jana didn't even know who their real father was. "Oh. Well…I hope she gets better soon, then." Roxie grabbed her coat off the back of a nearby chair and folded it in her arms. "Bye." She turned and walked to the door. Just as she opened it, her mother's boyfriend turned to her.

"Wait…should I tell her you stopped by?" he asked.

"No." With that, Roxie slipped out of the room, and walked slowly down the hallway, away from her mother's boyfriend, and away from her mother.

Paige sat down in a chair by Spinner's bed, tears sliding down her cheek. The nurses told her that he was unresponsive, and could possibly have brain damage. Paige wiped away a tear and stared at her ex-boyfriend. Suddenly, all the anger and hate she had felt for him in the past couple of weeks just melted away.

"Oh, Spinner," she said sadly. "I'm sorry. I know this wasn't my fault, but I'm sorry. And I'm sorry about being so horrible to you. I was just so upset about losing you. And I'm sorry about kissing Carter. I know you don't know anything about that, but I feel really guilty, even though we weren't together. I don't know why I kissed him….because I was still in love with you."

Paige stopped and stared at Spinner, who remained motionless. The doctor's said that talking to him was a good idea, because it might make him wake up. Paige sniffled and continued.

"You were the best boyfriend. You were so supportive back when Dean raped me. You were so sweet to try to get me the perfect locker last year, too." Paige stopped and smiled faintly. "Even though I had to be a total witch about it, I still appreciated it. I just…I need you to come back to me. I've missed you so much, and now that Angel's out of our lives, maybe we can be together again. I….love you."

Paige was quiet for a few seconds, and suddenly, she spotted something. Spinner's eyes twitched. Finally, after a long minute, his eyes opened. He saw her, and smiled his goofy smile. Paige beamed.

"Oh, Spin! You're awake!" she cried. She held his hand and smiled. "What were you thinking about while you were unconscious?" Paige asked, secretly hoping he would say her.

"Spray cheese," Spinner said quietly with a small smile on his lips.

Two days later, things were looking up. Spinner was alright, just severely bruised and battered. Ashley had managed to be resuscitated, but only barely. She had lost a lot of blood. Manny was stable, but she stayed unconscious all through the night. The next afternoon, Craig returned to the hospital after a long shower and a meal, and found out that Manny was awake.

"Can I see her?" he asked the nurse at the front desk. She thought, and then nodded.

"Only if she isn't resting," the nurse said. He led Craig to her room, and checked to see if she was asleep. She wasn't, so the nurse ushered Craig inside. He stepped in hesitantly, and saw Manny sitting up in her bed. She looked pale, but alright. Craig stepped up to her bedside.

"How are you doing?" he asked, stuffing his hands in his pockets hands nervously.

Manny glanced at her hands and shrugged. "I'm sitting in a hospital room, so not that great."

"Oh." Long pause. "Uh…"

"Just ask it," Manny said with a sigh. "What happened the other night? I'm not really sure, but I was really depressed. You saw me with Carter, and freaked, and then Carter freaked, and I thought both of you never wanted to see me again. Then I went home, and my parents kicked me out. So I just kind of ended up at Groove, and Sully was there…."

"Sully?" Craig said surprised.

"I know…it was stupid. I just stared taking this stuff, and then I must have stumbled outside…I don't really remember. But I do know you found me. And…thank you." She looked up at him with her big brown eyes. Craig smiled sheepishly.

"You don't have to thank me…" Manny cut him off.

"Yes, I do. I could have died," she said. "Just… thank you. And I'm sorry about the whole Carter thing. It sounds lame, but I didn't mean to hurt you. When we started seeing each other, I wasn't seeing Carter. Than he apologized, and I couldn't tell him the truth. I guess I understand how hard it is to tell someone you're seeing someone else."

Craig nodded, thinking about last year. Manny continued. "I want things to be ok between us. We can be….friends."

Craig nodded, only slightly disappointed that Manny wanted to be just friends. But he did too. It was better that way.

"And…I'm going to go away for a little while," Manny said, glancing out the window. "Mom and Dad are sending me to this rehabilitation place as soon as I leave here."

"Oh," Craig said, swallowing hard. "Well, I'm going to miss you. I'll be waiting until you come back" Manny smiled at him, and took his hand and squeezed it.

"I'm going to miss you, too."


	23. This Can't Be Goodbye

A few days later, Ellie sat on Ashley bed. She glanced at Ashley, who was sitting at her keyboard, playing a few random notes. After a few minutes, she turned to Ellie, glancing at the bandages on her wrist. She smiled faintly and glanced around her spacious room.

"You can't know how great it is to be back in my own room after that stuffy hospital," she said, standing up. Ellie nodded in understanding as Ashley walked over to dresser.

"Ellie…I should have listened to you," Ashley suddenly said quietly. "I just couldn't admit I had a problem. Life had really sucked for me lately, and I didn't know how to deal with it."

"I totally understand," Ellie said quickly. "Cutting can be addictive. But it can be so dangerous, too."

"Don't I know it," Ashley said, holding up a bandaged wrist. "I wasn't trying to kill myself, you know? My mom and dad had just got in this huge fight, and I was really upset. I just kept cutting….I didn't even realize it. Then I…passed out."

Ellie nodded. Ashley sighed sadly and sat down on her bed. "But I'm getting counseling, but I'm not going to go back to school for awhile. I'm going to stop…I just need some help." Ellie smiled and wrapped an arm around her friend.

"Good. An anytime you're feeling down or stressed or something, call me and we can go to a movie or shopping…or _anything_ at all," she said. "Even if it's one in the morning. Anytime." Ashley smiled and hugged her friend tightly; suddenly feeling like everything was going to be ok.

 Sean took his Math textbook out of his locker, and slipped it into his bag. He frowned, preoccupied with thoughts of Gina and Emma. A minute later, he closed his locker, and turned around….and he was staring right at Gina. Sean frowned harder and shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"Hey, babe," she purred, smiling. "Want to skip English? I cannot sit through another boring day of Mrs. Kwan babbling about some stupid book."

"Forget it, Gina. Just…forget us," he said coldly, stepping around her. Before he could walk away, Gina grabbed his arm firmly.

"Wait? What's the matter with you?" she barked out.

"How could you do that to Emma, Gina?" he asked, turning back around. Gina dropped his arm and folded her arms over her chest.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Bull. You put something in her drink. Just admit it, Gina."

Gina sighed loudly. "I still don't know what you're talking about, Sean, and I think-"

"Cut the crap, Gina. You're such a liar. Why not just tell the truth? Everyone knows-" Sean began, but Gina cut him off angrily.

"Fine! I did it! But so what, Sean? That little ho was all over you. Not to mention she was the one who totally got me in trouble with Raditch! She deserved it, and you know it," Gina said, narrowing her bright blue eyes. Sean just stared at her in disgust.

"We're done, Gina," he said, turning to walk away.

"You can't break up with me!" she called after him. Sean shrugged and kept walking, not bothering to turn around.

"I just did," he called back, leaving Gina standing by his locker. _Now that that's done with_, he thought, heading toward English class. _I've got one more thing to do. _

    "Emma!" Sean said, grabbing Emma's arm to stop her before she went into English class. Emma gasped slightly, and Sean wanted to kick himself for being so thoughtless. Of course she was jumpy. She had been…Sean didn't want to think about it. "Can we talk real fast?" Emma nodded slowly, and the two moved off to the side.

"Emma…Manny told me about what happened at that party," Sean said. Emma blushed and looked away, but Sean shook his head.

"I…I know what happened to you was horrible. But that's not what we talked about. She told that she saw Gina slip something in your drink. I…I guess I didn't see the true Gina when I was dating her."

"Was?" Emma asked, and Sean nodded. Emma sighed with relief. She had confronted Gina about the party, and of course Gina had adamantly denied everything. Emma knew she couldn't prove anything, and realized Gina would probably go unpunished. So Emma was pleased to learn that she had at least lost Sean.

"I broke up with her. I…I care you, Emma. I just…the way you've been acting lately…" he trailed off. Emma nodded quickly.

"Don't worry about that. I'm…I'm not like that anymore. Things have changed…I'm getting counseling. Hopefully, I'll even press charges against the guy. But now I want to focus on moving on and going back to the old me. I guess I'm just going to be old, boring Emma Nelson." She smiled at Sean bravely. Even though she was putting on a brave face, Emma still had deep emotional scars to deal with. She was just glad that Sean was going to be there for her.

Sean smiled back. "Good," he said, taking her hand, and leaning in to kiss her….

    A week later, Craig opened his locker and watched as Spinner approached, his arm wrapped protectively around Paige's shoulder. He let go so Paige could open her locker. Spin then grinned at Craig.

"Hey, buddy," he said. Craig smiled and glanced at his friend, who was still covered in bruises, but was looking much better. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm glad to be back in school. With Angel and then the "incident", I feel like I haven't been here is forever."

Craig laughed and nodded as he unloaded some of his books. Paige took out a brush and smiled at her boyfriend.

"I'm so glad your doing better," she said, reaching up and giving him a peck on the cheek. "And I'm glad we're back together. Spin, fix your shirt."

Craig smiled and closed his locker. "Glad to see some things haven't changed." Spin made a face at Craig, but smiled.

"I don't know what I was thinking, dating Angel," Spin said, revealing one of his rare, deep-thought moments. "She was bad news, but it's like I was hypnotized or something." He shrugged.

"Let's just be glad that Angel is out of our lives," Paige said a bit bitterly.

"I couldn't agree more," a voice said, and the three turned to see Roxie walking up to her locker. She rolled her eyes. "Apparently she's doing well in Montreal, so maybe she'll stay there for…hopefully, forever." Roxie opened her locker. Paige nodded in agreement and closed her locker. Spin put an arm around his girlfriend, and looked at Roxie. She looked at him, and it was as if they silently agreed never to mention what had happened between them to anyone.

"We're going to leave you two alone," Spin said, and he and Paige began to walk away. He looked at Craig and winked. Craig blushed slightly and just smiled. Roxie watched the couple walk away, and then laughed.

"That was painfully obvious," she said, taking out a few things and loading them into her book bag. "What have you been telling people, Craig?" she teased. Craig shrugged and leaned against his locker as he watched Roxie.

"Oh, you know…that I've scored with you a million times and you're incredibly easy."

Roxie stood up and grinned. "Oh, how I'm going to miss your smart-ass attitude."

Craig began to smile. "You know you love it-wait, why are you going to miss it?"

Roxie's smile faded and she cleared her throat. "I might as well tell you, because your going to find out anyway…I'm moving to Parker Beach. My aunt has been in Europe for a few years, but social services finally contacted her and found out she came back a week ago. She said she'll take me, so…I'm going to go."

"You can't go," Craig said, his face falling.

Roxie smiled sadly. "Great. You've become emotionally attached." She sighed dramatically and closed her locker. "Don't tell me that after all this time you're finally realizing you want to be more than friends?"

Craig looked at her. "What if I am?" That surprised Roxie.

"Well….I guess it's too late," she said quietly, putting her book bag onto her shoulder. "I'm leaving this afternoon. My aunt's coming to pick my up at my house in an hour. I'm really going to miss you." She looked away. "I've already said good-bye to Ash and stuff, but I hope you two are…going to work things out. You two would make a great couple. Ash cares about you a lot." Roxie looked back at him. "I'll call you when I get to my aunt's. Maybe I'll visit this summer or something."

Craig nodded. "Are you sure you have to go?"

Roxie laughed. "Positive. Don't be sad, though. It's kind of like when you left your dad and moved in with Joey. It's a good thing. I need to be someplace where somebody actually cares about me." Craig nodded in understanding, silently thinking that _he_ cared about her.

"Just so you know, I'm not mad about you and Spinner," he said quickly, thinking back on the fight they had had the night that all the shit had happened. After Spinner, Ashley, and Manny, it had hardly seemed important. "I know it was a mistake." Roxie nodded slowly and smiled happily.

"Just so you know, I'm not mad about Manny. Well…not really. Insanely jealous is probably the word. Bye, Craig." She kissed him on the cheek.

"Bye, Roxie." And then she was gone.

Craig looked down at the floor, and saw that she had left her jacket. He picked it up.

    An hour later, Craig hurried down the street to Roxie's house. He had to catch her. He had to give her back her jacket, but more importantly, he had to tell her how he really felt. He had to let her know that he loved her. Craig ran as fast as his legs could take him, but as he rounded the corner into the street where Roxie lived, he saw a blue car pull out of her driveway. He waved his hands in the air, hoping they would see him, but they didn't.

Craig reached her driveway just as the car disappeared out of sight. He leaned over, panting, still clutching her jacket. He shook his head.

"I love you," he said to no one, defeated.

A few minutes later Craig stood up, and glanced at Roxie's house, which was abandoned. He realized how selfish he was being. Roxie deserved to go and have a real family. She deserved to live a happy life. Craig nodded his head, and then looked at the jacket he had in his hands. Roxie's jacket. Something fell out of the pocket.

Craig bent over and picked it up. It was a picture that Jimmy had taken when a bunch of them had gone to one of Dylan's hockey games. It was of Roxie and Craig smiling at the camera. Craig stared at it, and then at the jacket. Then he gazed down the street in the direction that the car had gone.

Then, he smiled.

Author's Note- Thanks for everyone who had reviewed and read my story! I was hoping that if you review the last chapter, you could also kind of review the story as a whole. And even though the stories done, anyone who reads it later can still review, because I love reviews!  Anyway, the sequel _Nothing Is Forever,_ will be up in a few days, so read that, too! It's going to be about basically the same characters as this one, but a lot of new stuff is going to happen. So thanks so much for reading and reviewing! Hope you liked it!


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